Weekly MomenToUs

In this week’s episode, we are going to be jumping all around the New Testament, pulling in some short stories about some of the women who were vital to how the early Christian Church grew. In this episode, we are going to be learning more about Sapphira, Tabitha, Lydia, Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia & Syntyche, and Junia.

[T]hey are important simply because their names and a portion of their stories were included in the story of...

In both of these stories, women encounter Jesus and they are not defined by what their culture says should keep them separate. In both stories, there is no judgment from Jesus to the women; the judgment comes from others in the story - the scribes, the Pharisees, the disciples - those who were trying so hard to be faithful to God and how they understood scripture that they missed the opportunity to extend grace and build relationsh...

These stories are sometimes pulled out to be examples of how a strong faith can result in either ourselves or someone we love being healed. These stories end up getting used as motivation to just believe more, pray more, go to church more, and stop asking so many questions. But here’s the thing: healing and being restored into community doesn’t depend on how strong or fragile someone’s faith is at any given point. Think about how c...

In this episode, we are focusing on several different people, all of whom were also early followers of Jesus, who are listed as being present at the end of Jesus’ life. This is an episode focusing on what we know about the women who wept and sat vigil during Jesus’ death, were charged with caring for his body after his death, and who were the first to tell the world that Jesus had risen and conquered death, even before the disciple...

Martha and Mary show up in the Gospels in a few short scenes, that show us Jesus’ ministry and continuing to grow and expand and that the care supporters are showing him is mutual. Jesus’ heartbreak at Lazarus’ death is real. The network of safety is strengthening as Jesus is beginning to return to supporters’ homes multiple times; this network of care and safety will be especially important as the religious and political leaders c...

Remembering that both Mary and Elizabeth are integral to the stories of Jesus and John the Baptist, helps to shed some light on how important community and relationship is to God. Neither Jesus nor John the Baptist came into existence completely on their own. They came into existence through the limitations and wonder of very human bodies, relying on families and larger communities to raise and form them into the people they were c...

Each of these stories shows how the definition of who is included as part of God’s people continues to expand throughout the generations, pointing us ahead to the New Testament where people across the world are included in God’s people. Including these women in the genealogy of Jesus means that their entire identities and story is included, even the parts that make our stomachs churn. This points to God’s presence in the midst of h...

This entire book uses the marriage between Hosea and Gomer as an extended metaphor for God’s relationship with God’s people. This doesn’t mean that we strive for infidelity in our relationships or that we force ourselves to stay in relationships where infidelity is happening.

This is a book that draws out the reality that God’s people, even today, continue to be unfaithful in how we tend our side of our relationship with God, how...

Sharing these stories together highlights several things:

the necessity of consent in relationships,

the importance of voices from the margin having access to individuals in power,

the reality of treating humans as resources and commodities, a practice that continues today,

the power of using your influence to advocate for marginalized people, and

the importance of honesty and truth-telling in the face of abuses of power.

This is...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Hannah.

Hannah’s story is a brief one, but an important part of the story of God’s people. Samuel was integral in spiritual leadership as God’s people transitioned from being led by judges to being governed by a monarchy. Her faithfulness in prayer and in honoring commitments and promises to God had used to point to God’s faithfulness even when it seems...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Jael, Deborah, and Huldah.

Each of these women show up in the story of God’s people in surprising ways: Deborah as the only female judge recorded in scripture, Jael as an unexpected warrior and hero, Huldah as a female prophet within the temple. All of their stories, when added together, only make up a very ...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of the Women in Exodus.

The story of the Exodus has many layers that stand out to us based on our own histories and are embraced by different cultures. The majority of this book focuses on God’s call for Moses to lead God’s people and how God’s people respond to that leadership, especially when they are tired. But, the first few chapters of this book a...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Dinah and Tamar.

These stories are hard. They remind us that life in ancient Mesopotamia was violent. Families united against family, sometimes resulting in fighting, sometimes resulting in death. The use of force, especially against women was common. Women did not have full authority to approve or deny who they would marry. These stories grate agai...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Rebekah and Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, and Rachel.

This story that stretches across a large portion of the book of Genesis is not one that is easy to read. There is deep brokenness present within this family, divides so deep that set the stage for the narrative that will come next and will shape the identity of God’s people and influences how God’s peopl...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Hagar & Sarai/Sarah.

The intertwined stories of Hagar and Sarah can call us to examine things like how those in power, either willingly or unknowingly, cause harm to those without that same power and privilege. These stories can call us to work toward an end to sex trafficking and creating a culture of consent surrounding how our bodies are used by ...

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Eve, the first human called by name in the Bible.

Remembering the story of Eve, those of us who have experienced separation from our home or families, who have made mistakes that altered our entire lives, who have found our ride or die, who have had to bury children, who have had rainbow babies after infant loss, who struggle to be faithful, who are h...