Winter at Valley Forge
January 10, 2026, 3:30 PM
Presented by Dr. Peter Lillback
Performing Arts Center, Brewster
Winter at Valley Forge
This sixth lecture in the America 250 series will highlight the miracle of Winter at Valley Forge (1777-1778). In particular, this talk will offer a study of George Washington’s reliance on God, and a defining moment of George Washington’s faith as he prayed and fasted in the snow at Valley Forge. George Washington demonstrated practically his faith in crisis. God heard his prayers and delivered George Washington and the troops from their endurance of incredible physical hardship and a spiritual trial. George Washington’s example raises a question – what do we say today about the question of separation of church and state?
About Dr. Peter Lillback
Rev. Dr. Peter Lillback (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is president and professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also serves as the president emeritus and founder of The Providence Forum and senior editor of the new Unio cum Christo: An International Journal of Reformed Theology and Life.
Dr. Lillback’s academic interests include church history, the doctrine of Scripture, public theology, the theology of John Calvin, Johannine Theology, and Christianity as it relates to American history. For those who are new to Dr. Lillback’s writing and teaching on his research interests, he recommends several resources as places to start. On Calvin, he would recommend starting with his work co-edited with David Hall, A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis, as well as his lecture “The Place of Covenant in Calvin’s Theology.” Also consider his course Covenant Theology, available free online from Westminster, which specifically focuses on Calvin’s contribution to the development of covenant theology during the Reformation.
Concerning Dr. Lillback’s research on Christianity in American history, he would recommend his publications George Washington’s Sacred Fire and Wall of Misconception, or his lecture “The American Presbyterian Experience of Religious Liberty and the American Amendments to the Westminster Confession.” On the doctrine of Scripture, he recommends his recent work co-edited with Dr. Richard Gaffin Thy Word Is Still Truth, which is a survey of essential writings on the doctrine of Scripture from the Reformation to today.
It is Dr. Lillback’s pleasure, as president, to host a variety of prominent teachers and speakers at Westminster, which he will also share on this site. For example, it was his joy to help establish the Richard B. Gaffin Lectures on Theology, Culture, and Mission, an annual lecture series in honor of the great biblical theologian and Westminster professor emeritus Dr. Richard Gaffin. Past lecturers include Bruce Waltke, Peter Jensen, Robert Letham, Al Mohler, D. A. Carson, John Piper, and more.
About the Series
Join us as we continue on a year-long series of monthly lectures celebrating God’s miraculous acts during our nation’s fight for Independence.
Each lecture highlights key moments of divine intervention that took place during the Revolutionary War—Remarkable stories of timely reinforcements, inexplicable weather events, and the unwavering perseverance of the patriots and militias against overwhelming odds.
