Mother's Day Ideas: Celebrate Women of Faith Back to the DPS Mother's Day Resource Page  download the PowerPoint presentation for free Seven Extraordinary Women of Faith of the Bible Samples: Eve - Genesis 2:4b and 3:1-24 God created Adam and found him wanting. Enter Eve, formed from Adam’s rib, made of the same raw materials as he, and given the power to choose between good and evil. In the creation story we find a strong, interdependent Eve, fully engaged with the world around her. She is portrayed as a worthy and equal partner to Adam. She explored the Garden, dialogued with a serpent, decided on the forbidden fruit, and liked it enough to share the experience with Adam... Eve’s story reminds us that people can be both creative and destructive. She teaches us to weigh our choices carefully, tempering our desires with wisdom. Deborah - Judges 4 and 5 In a time in which it was improper for a woman to be alone in a house with a man, Deborah sat outside beneath a palm tree and judged Israel. After 20 years of oppression, it was she who summoned the military general Barak to take ten thousand soldiers and storm Mt. Tabor against their enemy Sisera. Barak answered, “If you go with me.” Deborah agreed, but told Barak he’d receive no glory. “The Lord will have Sisera fall into the power of a woman.” This prophecy would have dual meaning, for not only would Deborah be remembered as the real leader of this victory, Sisera would literally fall because of a woman...   Deborah inspires us to trust our wisdom and instincts and to humbly accept the credit due us. A canticle (Judges 5) is dedicated to her bravery. Her example admonishes us to always remember and respect the power of a woman.   Ruth - The Book of Ruth Their names say it all. Ruth, believed to be a short version of “retut,” or lovely friend, was the widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi. Naomi, also a widow, was exiled from Moab because of a famine and had returned to Bethlehem after the death of her sons. She told old friends, “Call me Mara, for the Lord has made it very bitter for me.” What Naomi missed is the sweetness of a special gift: Ruth. Naomi had released her grieving daughters-in-law to return to their people, but Ruth declared, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”...   Ruth’s lesson to us? Steadfast love and loyalty may just lead you into a glorious destiny.   Esther - The Book of Esther Esther was a simple orphan, raised by her cousin Mordecai, until she decided she was destined to be royalty. Hiding her Jewish identity, she became a harem contestant, and after a year of spa treatments, emerged a stunner. The king may not have been bright, but he knew how to pick a beauty queen. Smitten, he rewarded Esther with a crown. It was good to be Esther until a tip from Mordecai forced her into action. The king, who led more by whim than wisdom, was convinced by his evil minister Haman to kill all Jews....   Esther reminds us to be imaginative, as well as courageous. We don’t always have to fight to get what we want; sometimes we just have to outwit our adversary.   Mary, mother of Jesus Much has been said about accepting Jesus as the personal savior, but no one accepted him in a more personal way than Mary, his mother. She literally “fleshed out” the unthinkable: Immanuel, God with us....   Mary was the first disciple of Christ. She had to believe in him before anyone else. Her faith in Jesus was not a product of her extraordinary actions. It was a gift. Her lesson to us is that we must let go of the notion that we create faith based on our works. God gifts us with faith, which makes our good works possible. Woman at the Well - John 4: 1-30 Like Jesus, the Samaritan woman came to the well thirsty. Jesus wanted to quench his bodily thirst; so did the woman, but the story hints at deeper layers of meaning. Perhaps Jesus thirsted for souls, and the woman for at-long-last love. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said, a scandal; Jews were forbidden to share anything in common with unclean Samaritans. When she questioned him he replied, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ... Mary Magdala Poor Mary Magdalene. St. Gregory the Great ruined her reputation suggesting she was a prostitute. Scholars have since rejected his thesis, and today Mary Magdalene is seen as one of Jesus’ most powerful allies. Sure, he may have had to cast seven demons out of her, or at least healed her of an undisclosed illness, but the grateful woman of means in turn led his female disciples and offered Jesus financial support....   With Mary as our example, we can follow our passions with everything within us, fearlessly, no matter what obstacles we encounter.   download the PowerPoint presentation for free   Back to the DPS Mother's Day Resource Page