Her Story
carries on the work
of retelling the stories of women who were divinely called and empowered to do great things.
Many of them rose to the occasion, and a few very famously did not.
Often, the tragedies and triumphs in their lives are missed, their accounts sidelined, and their portrayals given from perspectives that dismiss the honor and dignity they deserve.
Excavating their narratives from millennia of obfuscation, you and I now meet the freshly restored, valiant, vivid, and sometimes villainous women of the Bible.
Her Story offers a deep appreciation for God’s work and call in and through women in the scriptures and encourages you and me to take practical steps towards recognition and support of women in all levels and varieties of ministry and spiritual leadership today.
When you subscribe to Her Story, you will meet a woman from the Bible every Wednesday.
HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Lydia
Through Lydia we learn that mature faith accepts God’s crossing up of conventions–I first heard that taught in a BSF class, years ago, and I was struck with the simple wisdom in that statement. #Lydia #PurpleDye #Acts16
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Tabitha (Dorcas)
A unique and intriguing story of a woman with dual citizenship, known for her good deeds, the only woman who was actually called disciple in the Christian Testament, whose death rocked her Christian community to its core #Tabitha #Dorcas #Acts9
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Mary of Bethany
Mary said few words, but her passion and practice made a deep and lasting impact on Jesus’ heart and our understanding of discipleship. #MaryofBethany, #John11, #John12
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Martha of Bethany
Martha was a woman of bold faith and blessed service, who was able to leave the conventions of her old life and enter into the grace and freedom Jesus offers. #Martha #John11 #Bethany
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, The Woman at the Well
The story of the woman at the well comes right after Jesus made a blockbuster statement to the Pharisee and Sanhedrin member Nicodemus: God loves not just Pharisees, not even just Judeans, but the whole world. #WomanattheWell #SamaritanWoman
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Women Disciples, the Conclusion
The high view of Christ and of the Scriptures will lead modern Christians to hearken to John’s portrayal of women and men in Jesus’s apostolic mission, and support Christ’s work today in calling women and men to every level of leadership in the church.
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Mary of Magdala, a Disciple of Jesus
Like the five men called to be disciples at the beginning of John’s Gospel, and the woman at the well in Samaria in Chapter 4, Mary of Magdala’s story includes all twelve elements unique to Jesus’s call. #MaryMagdalene #John20 #WomanDisciple
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, The Samaritan Woman, A Disciple of Jesus
Take a close look at this woman, one who may not have been there for Christ’s ascension (but, then again, she may have been, as Luke 8:3 indicates many women traveled with Jesus), who said yes to Jesus’s call. #SamaritanWoman #WomanattheWell
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Twelve Marks of Jesus Call to Discipleship
We don’t often think of Jesus gathering disciples together as a rabbi starting a school, but the shape of what Jesus did very much is the shape of a school. Jesus did depart from the traditional rabbinical model of his day in a few significant ways. For instance, unlike other schools, Jesus kept his table…
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Did Jesus Call Women to Discipleship?
Did Jesus call women into discipleship in the same way Jesus called men? Or did women simply start following Jesus of their own accord, with no formal call? Can we say, for instance, that Mary of Bethany was actually a disciple, or was she simply acting like a disciple when she sat at Jesus’s feet?…
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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Women Disciples an Introduction
The debate continues as to whether Scripture endorses, or at least permits, or rather forbids women from certain roles within the Body of Christ. May women be deacons? May women be elders? May women be pastors? May women be bishops? May women teach or lead in church? At stake, of course, is how to live…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, Jairus’s Daughter
Season 6, Christ’s Ministry: Jairus’s Daughter The story of Jairus’s daughter and the woman who suffered from a bleeding disorder are told together in all three of the synoptic gospels—the gospels that more or less track with each other, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I am going to be teaching out of Mark’s gospel, who has…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, Mary of Magdala
Throughout his ministry, Jesus gathered around him men and women who became a community of 120 people joined in their love for and faith in Jesus. And one of those women was Mary of Magdala. She is mentioned fourteen times, in all four Gospels, and her name is almost always placed first, seemingly implying she…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, The Cross – Symbol of Victory
Is the cross a symbol about death or life? defeat or triumph? humiliation or glory? Or all those things? As I searched for answers, I became drawn to how Christians depicted crosses a thousand years ago and more, and that search became this fifteen minute video on the ancient symbols of Christianity. From the eight-hundred-year…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, The Wife of Pilate
Of the several influential women in the Bible who are not given names—Job’s wife, comes to mind—the wife of Pilate is perhaps the most shadowy. All that is known of her from the scriptures is her relationship to the Procurator Marcus Pontius Pilate, and the message she sent to him while he was sitting on…
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“Tell Her Story”
New Podcast with Max Botner.
Much has been written about the various ways to understand what the Bible has to say about women, and it is no new debate. #TellHerStory #MaxBotner
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, The Widow’s Mite
In the passage just before this one, Mark talked about the scribe who had asked Jesus about the greatest commandment and was impressed with Jesus’ answer. Jesus was also pleased. He told the scribe he was very close to entering the kingdom of heaven. With such a warm endorsement from a scribe, this was a…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, The Sinful Woman
We don’t know this woman’s backstory at all, whether she was young or old, her culture or clan. Some in our Bible study thought perhaps she was the woman who had committed adultery and was forgiven privately by Jesus after everyone had left (John 8:11). Maybe! We really have no information on her at all…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, Woman Caught in Adultery
Most Bibles point out that the earliest manuscripts do not include this story, and sometimes it appears in Luke However, Jerome, in 383 AD, included it in his translation of the Gospel of John, right after chapter 7, where it is usually found today. Jerome noted that many ancient Greek and Latin manuscripts at his…
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HER STORY: Christ’s Ministry, Herodias
Herodias’ story is introduced in both Mathew’s gospel and Mark’s with Herod Antipas hearing reports about Jesus’ astonishing miraculous powers. “Some were saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a…
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HER STORY: Kings and Queens, Esther
There is some debate as to whether the book of Esther is historical, or possibly written as a play or allegory. Haman’s seventy-five foot gallows, the difficulty in establishing which king—and more notably, which queen—Esther’s story describes, and the depiction of a few unlikely scenes such as a massive, three-day civil war which is completely…
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HER STORY: Kings and Queens, Huldah
Have you ever even heard of Huldah? I bet not! Most timelines for the history of ancient Israel place prophets alongside the kings they advised. Even prophets without their own books, such as the prophet Nathan who counseled King David, are listed. But as much as I look for her, I have yet to see…
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HER STORY: Kings and Queens, Jezebel
Just the word “jezebel” evokes a whole evil, erotic, seductive mystique, doesn’t it? I looked “jezebel” up in the dictionary, and here’s what Webster-Merriam has to say: “an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman.” According to other definitions, A jezebel is a wicked, evil, scheming female who is manipulates her victims into giving her wealth,…
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HER STORY: Kings and Queens, Bathsheba
Bathsheba had grown up admiring the handsome, charismatic king David. It had been an exhilarating time in Israel’s history, and her dad Eliam, one of David’s might men, had been all wrapped up in the thick of it, close with David ever since the young shepherd had been on the lam, running from King Saul.…
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HER STORY: Kings and Queens, Abigail
Abigail’s story begins during a traditionally joyful time, the sheep shearing festival. Many guests had gathered, and there was much feasting. Abigail was well-known for her gracious hospitality, and all the tables were generously supplied. As the celebration wore into the evening, ten plainly dressed men entered the pavilion and came to address Nabal. Would…
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