People grow frustrated when they see Jesus being misused, for example, by political factions. However, it is easy to project a false image of Christ to match what we want Jesus to be and to be for. This talk will look at various images of Christ, contemporarily and historically, before turning to the image presented in the New Testament. We will consider what it means to measure our own images to that original one and what it means to follow Jesus not just as an image but as the risen Lord....

Is being swallowed by a sea monster a form of rescue or danger? The book of the prophet Jonah is a perfect example of uncomfortable and often unwanted revelation breaking through an otherwise still life.  God, in his relationship to the world and to his creation often disrupts the safety and calm of our known world and bring us deeper into a revelation of who we are and should be. But a break through, in Jonah’s case, requires that he be broken into. Under the calm surface of a silent sea,...

Flannery O'Connor was a devout Catholic writer from the Deep South (in the US) in the 1950s and wrote hilarious and horrifying short stories. T.S. Eliot, the famous poet, said that Flannery's stories made him blanch and refused to read them. Flannery felt that each story were parables to the modern world, and that she had to shout in order for the modern ear to hear. She questioned the narrative that the modern world was continually progressing. The supernatural invades her characters'...

The core of the Christian gospel is not that God promises to remove and replace his beloved creation with something better, but that He promises to save and restore the creation He has made. This applies to us as human beings personally as well. In a broken world, the basic elements of our personalities and character can develop along paths where we do not love our neighbours as ourselves. Being 'set free' does not mean dying to myself and being raised as someone else, but rather asking God's...

Marta Crilly holds a MA in History, and a Masters in Archives Management from Simmons University. She worked as an Archivist for the city of Boston and is now Head Librarian, User Engagement & Burns Library Public Services at Boston College. This is what she has to say about the talk.Memory is a key aspect of both individual and community identity. Join us to consider how communities form and maintain memory, how community memory can be erased or falsified, and why remembering together is...

While these five themes are not the only important aspects to the work of L'Abri, it does give a coherent picture of what L'Abri believes, in what it proclaims and in what it desires to demonstrate. It will look at the truthfulness of Christianity, the reality of the supernatural, the humanness of spirituality, the reality of the fall, and the lordship of Christ over all of life. The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not...

She formerly worked in real estate development and affordable housing but has taken that experience to launch Proximity Project, which she is the founder and director. She has years of experience of helping churches steward their properties with the aim of the common good within the context of their neighborhoods. (You can also read two contributions she has made to Comment magazine, based out of Ottawa.) In our broken world, how can we design and build places that demonstrate God's...

Marriage rates continue to decline, especially among younger generations, where marriage is often given little importance. Is this a sign of liberation, or does it signal the loss of something foundational? What value might marriage still offer to men, women, children, and society today? We will examine some reasons for the decline in marriage, its effects, and how a Christian view of marriage can help to restore balance. The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri...

Christianity, particularly in the past few decades, has been under attack. However, it seems that this past decade, and even in the past couple of years, there have been numerous public intellectuals coming out as Christian, e.g. Tom Holland, Paul Kingsnorth, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and so on. Even people like Jordan Peterson , Douglas Murray, Louise Perry, not Christians themselves, arguing for the need for Christian ethics in society. Why is this happening? What are Christians to make of this...

The poem “The Lowest Room” by Christina Rossetti explores what it means to be in the lower place, the spot where you look up and see all the things that you want to be and should be and instead find yourself, discontentedly, on the lower rung. This Friday, we are taking a look at a life of comparison, the standards we set for ourselves and others, and what Christianity reveals about being in the lowest room. The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask...

This talk looks at the wildly popular books - The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and The Testaments (2019) - by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The popularity of these dystopian novels has arisen alongside concerns and fears of what is seen as political and religious fundamentalist influences in the States and its potential impact on women's hard-won rights. Then we will see how the Bible and the gospel intersect with the questions the books raise, and ask if the gospel can be good news for...

What does it mean to live together well? To be thriving communities of unique people where trust runs deep, differences does not threaten, and power is not abused? What would make people safe to be vulnerable enough to have deep and meaningful relationships? Marsh Moyle's book Rumours of a Better Country addresses our hunger for justice and a better way of living by awakening our moral imagination to the potential of trust. Drawing on ancient wisdom and looking through the lens of daily...

We welcomed Dr. Beth Stovell, professor of Old Testament at Ambrose University, as a part of a local conference on hope and suffering in Victoria. This is the first talk of three. It does stand on its own. About the lecture, Dr Beth Stovell says, The book of Job tells the story of a righteous man who loses everything and his journey towards hope. It helps us grapple with many questions that arise when we experience suffering: How do we respond when everything in our lives is turned upside...

We welcomed guest speaker Christina Eichenroht to give an excellent and accessible lecture on this intriguing topic. Recommended! What have the cluttered landscapes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder to do with the complex plots of Fyodor Dostoevsky? In each, we find subtle allusions to the holy, hidden and tucked away in the least likely of places. Bruegel and Dostoevsky "bury the lede," so to speak, and thereby implicate us in overlooking or dismissing the presence of the holy—until we stumble...

The founding fathers of sociology - Marx, Weber, and Durkheim - were deeply secular. The field of sociology has championed the social construction of reality and the power of social structures over individuals. Are these commitments antithetical to a biblical worldview? Or does sociology have something to teach the church?  (Jessamin Birdsall received a doctorate from Princeton in sociology and is currently pursuing a Masters at Regent College in Vancouver by examining the intersection of...

In this talk Clarke looks at the importance of seeing the Word of God (namely, the Scriptures) as our only sure foundation in the midst of our lives and our ever-shifting culture. In The Great Evangelical Disaster, Schaeffer called on evangelical Christians to hold to the full authority of the Word of God instead of compromising its message to current cultural values. If it is in any way accommodated, even in the areas of history or cosmos, it weakens its power to transform its listeners and...

While it is more common to hear someone say that they are "spiritual but not religious," in their opposition to organized religion, there has also been an increased focus on religious ritual or spiritual discipline to help us have a more intentional life and a more intimate relationship with God. Ultimately, this is looking to meet God through external forms to create internal transformation. Does this work? If not, why not and what else are we to do? This talk will look at this topic through...

Is singleness a blessing or a curse? Is marriage the Christian “default” position? What about singles and the church?  How do singles address the question of intimacy? Brett speaks from his own experience as a single and draw on the experiences of others. He looks first at Paul’s views on singleness and celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7. Then he looks at the following dimensions of singleness: the challenges of being single, the importance of being the Church, and opportunities for ministry by and...

This talk will be about what biblical criticism is and what challenges it poses to believers. We'll cover these challenges under the headings the problem of originality, the problem of contradiction, and the problem of inspiration. Through all that, we will see how biblical criticism differs from theology, what it can and can't say based on its methods, and finally how we can relate it back to theology to make it a useful tool for Christians to take advantage of. The Copyright for all...

There is no perfect parent, but the wounds we receive from our parents can have a long term influence on the beliefs, choices and desires we have as adults. What are some tips for unravelling these connections? In this lecture, we will not be focusing on how to approach that relationship again (questions of confrontation, reconciliation, restoration). Rather, we will primarily be looking at how to identify false patterns in our own thoughts and feelings, the lies we learn to live by, and how...

People struggle to understand the love of God because it is not being expressed in God's people. Difficulties arise because Christians are judgmental or because Christians make Love as an idea, not as arising from the personal holy Creator. Paul prays that Christians may understand the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of God in Jesus. How are we to experience this love of God, not only in joy but also in purity? The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri...

This talk is on the perplexing parable of the shrewd manager and how Jesus's teaching has implications for how we are to think of our money and our possessions. Jesus had to tell this parable in a surprising way, to catch people off guard and to help them understand something new. Perhaps it will catch you in a new way of thinking! The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any...

The more we learn about our Universe filled with galaxies, the smaller and perhaps the more insignificant we and our Earth can appear. How do we respond to this impression? How should we think about humanity’s cosmic role? What might astronomical discoveries tell us about God and the purposes of his creation? For this talk, we welcome guest speaker Dr. Dennis Danielson, an intellectual historian, a John Milton scholar, who has an interest in the history and literature of science. He has...

What are we to think when we see or hear a story of someone shaking in worship, falling when prayed for, or crying out or even laughing uncontrollably in the midst of a service or a time of prayer?  Should we conclude that the devil is running amok or that the Spirit is at hand and at work? Although this may not be our everyday experience, we all find ourselves wrestling at times to discern the Spirit's work. This lecture will seek to learn from the wisdom of an 18th century American pastor...