To say Hagar is remarkable because of her insight about God isn’t the first way we usually think of her. Is Hagar one of those Old Testament Biblical figures you know because she was exiled from a home where her child was fathered by the head of the household? That was largely the context I […]
Archive | Bible Study
3 Helpful Doors into the 91st Psalm
The 91st Psalm was our family’s go-to prayer during emergencies –like when a tornado funnel whirled dangerously close to our living room window in Oklahoma. It’s one of the three Psalms my Mom had us memorize and pray before going to sleep—something I was incredibly grateful for as the years went by and new emergencies […]
Why linking Valentine’s Day and a Biblical Book isn’t crazy!
By Madelon Maupin on February 11, 2019 in Old Testament, Biblical Artists, Bible Study, The Bible and Popular Culture
The headline of this blog might be a head-scratcher for you. After all, Valentine’s Day has its origin in the ancient pagan cultures of Greece and Rome when orgies celebrating romance and fertility regularly occurred. But as the Roman Empire was Christianized, the festival of Juno Februata – the Roman goddess of love, marriage, and […]
Six Reasons to Celebrate Jesus’ Birth
While answers to this question might appear so obvious that it doesn’t bear asking, I invite you to pause this Christmas Eve and actually write down your own answers. They probably won’t match anyone else’s list and that’s just fine. What this simple exercise does is bring the life of Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth […]
Thanksgiving Psalms for the Season
“Praise the Lord!” And so begins one of the glorious types of Psalms (Ps. 111) from the Psalter, built on a recognition of God’s many blessings. What a perfect time of year to consider the Thanksgiving Psalm more deeply and maybe even write your own! There are many types of Psalms, but two predominate: the […]
