This Month Shall Be for You

Esther 9:20-10:3 By Jon Jordan A little over a month ago I finished reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It is the first in a now four-book series spanning roughly five centuries and centered on the... Read More...

A Good Day

Esther 8:15-9:19 By Amber Noel What makes for a good day? A walk in the park with your dog? Stopping by the café for a hot doughnut and a cup o’ joe? A day when all the to-dos are checked off, your bills ar... Read More...

‘Secular’ Neglect, Salvation Anyway:

Esther 5:9–8:14 and the Theology of the Book of Esther By Wesley Hill In my work as a New Testament professor, I regularly introduce students to the Jewish diaspora — the post-exilic life of the people of Israel outside their ancestral home in Palestine. I... Read More...

For Such a Time as This

Esther 3:1-5:8 By Hannah Matis If thrillers, even when unrealistic, give you a sense of what people are afraid of in contemporary society, romance novels can be surprisingly effective barometers of hope. Pr... Read More...

Reading Esther and Ruth in Tandem

Esther 1:1–2:23 By Sarah Puryear This week in the Good Book Club, our reading plan moves from the story of Ruth to that of Esther. These two books are often paired with each other because they are the only ... Read More...

Friendship and the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1–4:18 By Neil Dhingra Ruth, the Moabite, widowed, bereaved, loyal and faithful to mother-in-law from Israel. — Graham Kings, “Ruth” In a recent lecture on friendship, Alasdair MacIntyre says it remains unclear how many people Aristotle met. For ... Read More...

Love Gleaned, Offered, and Received

Ruth 1:1-2:23 By Brandt L. Montgomery On today, the Feast of the Epiphany, we are again invited on a Good Book Club journey through Scripture, starting with the Book of Ruth. Faust author Johann Wolfgang vo... Read More...

Ten Words and a Consuming Fire

Exodus 17:8–20:21 By Christopher Yoder For six weeks they wandered in the wilderness. They had sung with joy when they walked through the sea on dry ground and into freedom. They were deliriously happy. The... Read More...