2026 Covenant Seminary Preaching Lectures to Feature Rev. Richie Sessions
Covenant Seminary is pleased to announce that the featured speaker for the 2026 edition of the Covenant Seminary Preaching Lectures is Rev. Richie Sessions, Reformed University Fellowship Area Coordinator for Oklahoma and Mississippi Valley. The lectures will take place in the Robert G. Rayburn Chapel on the Seminary campus on Tuesday, October 13. No classes will be held that day so that students and faculty may attend the lectures; local pastors and members of the community are welcome to attend as well.
Rev. Richie Sessions
Rev. Sessions will be speaking on the theme “Preaching the Preciousness of Christ Clearly and Beautifully.” Individual lectures will focus on the various aspects of that theme: (1) “Preaching the Preciousness of Christ,” (2) “Preaching the Preciousness of Christ Clearly,” and (3) “Preaching the Preciousness of Christ Beautifully.” Doors will open for the Lectures at 8 a.m. with coffee and refreshments available. The lectures will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at approximately 2:30 p.m. The event is free.
Rev. Sessions was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a graduate of Belmont University and Reformed Theological Seminary, and has served churches in Mississippi and Tennessee, including Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis. He was the RUF Campus Minister at Vanderbilt University from 2015 to 2022, before moving into his current Area Coordinator role. He and his wife, Laura, have three children.
Dr. Thurman Williams, Director of Homiletics for Covenant Seminary, noted, “We are excited to have Rev. Sessions with us for this year’s Preaching Lectures. He brings a wealth of experience as a church pastor, RUF campus minister, and now RUF area coordinator. Ever since the Seminary’s founding and continuing up to the present day, Covenant has maintained a strong focus on training gospel preachers as a central means of pastoral ministry. These annual Preaching Lectures contribute to that emphasis by bringing in notable preachers from a variety of backgrounds and styles to instruct, inspire, and motivate our students, by God’s grace, to excel at this vitally important gift to the church.”
The Preaching Lectures are just one element in Covenant Seminary’s ongoing mission to prepare pastors for Christ’s church who walk in God’s grace, minister God’s Word, and equip God’s people—all for God’s mission. The Seminary is working to expand and enhance its training in the area of preaching with the assistance of a $1.19 million Compelling Preaching Grant from Lilly Endowment, which is enabling the development of additional training opportunities for both aspiring and seasoned preachers, and a new website devoted to preaching and preaching resources. Look for more information on the website soon.
