Today, dear ones, we decided to do a humorous Valentines Day episode, rather then the lovey dove type. We talked about the history of the holiday, weird facts that surround it, odd traditions, and most importantly, how we can use this day as a segue into the Gospel. We hope that this episode will be edifying and entertaining. Not to forget our single brothers and sisters-in-Christ, we have a special section in here just for you.
This episode is a little different than usual, although it is a holiday special, we tried to take some of the gross worldly lust “love” and bring it back to the Gospel. Below is an outline that has been timestamped for convenience of listening. You can, of course, listen across all major podcasting platforms such as Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, and in video form (eventually) on Youtube. We also now have a Patreon page, which you can find here https://www.patreon.com/Tulipshoneyhub. As always, beloved brethren, be good Berean’s and study to show yourselves approved.
Valentine’s Day
1. SHIRTS!!!! Inktale.com/tulipshoneyhub – TimeStamp: 00:01:32
2. Shout outs – TimeStamp: 00:04:00
a. Shawn from guyswithbible itunes facebook group
b. Yesenia and Jason Crothers Adoption Page – TimeStamp: 00:05:27
i. 
ii. https://cfcare.org/fbclid=IwAR3QHDsIGI1LvN4xC6zgn5ZINrIEyNJVlUTzsR55ZrT730o1mqyKROWPZc0
iii.
4. Little Women Review – TimeStamp: 00:10:20
5. Paul Washer and Christian Dating – TimeStamp: 00:11:55
a. https://illbehonest.com/a-young-mans-attitude-towards-women-paul-washer
6. Fun Facts – TimeStamp: 00:17:18
a. Valentine’s Day is a major source of economic activity, with total expenditures in 2017 topping $18.2 billion in 2017, or over $136 per person. This is an increase from $108 per person in 2010.
b. 1913 was when Hallmark Cards produced their first Valentine’s card! 4. – TimeStamp: 00:18:35
7. Really Cool History: https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/valentines-day-facts – TimeStamp: 00:19:40
a. Origins to a Bloody Pagan Festival: Some trace Valentine’s Day origins to a Christian effort to replace a pagan fertility festival that has been dated as far back as the 6th century B.C. During the festival of Lupercalia, Roman priests would sacrifice goats and dogs and use their blood-soaked hides to slap women on the streets, as a fertility blessing. According to legend, women would later put their names in an urn and be selected to be paired with a man for a year. – TimeStamp: 00:19:55
b. Every year, thousands of romantics send letters addressed to Verona, Italy to “Juliet,” the subject of the timeless romantic tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet.” The city marks the location of the Shakespearean tale, and the letters that reach the city are dutifully answered by a team of volunteers from the Juliet Club. Each year, on Valentine’s Day, the club awards the “Cara Giulietta” (“Dear Juliet”) prize to the author of the most touching love letter. – TimeStamp: 00:22:52
c. Box of Chocolates: The Valentine’s Day tradition of giving a box of candy was started in the 19th century by Richard Cadbury, a scion of a British chocolate manufacturing family. With a new technique recently established at the company to create more varieties of chocolate, Cadbury pounced on the opportunity to sell the chocolates as part of the beloved holiday. – TimeStamp: 00:23:50
d. First Valentine Was Written From a Prison: History’s first valentine was written in perhaps one of the most unromantic places conceivable: a prison. Charles, Duke of Orleans wrote the love letter to his second wife at the age of 21 while captured at the Battle of Agincourt. As a prisoner for more than 20 years, he would never see his valentine’s reaction to the poem he penned to her in the early 15th century. – TimeStamp: 00:24:20
e. ‘Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve’: The term “wearing your heart on your sleeve” may have origins in picking a valentine. Smithsonian reports that during the Middle Ages, men would draw the names of women who they would be coupled with for the upcoming year while attending a Roman festival honoring Juno. After choosing, the men wore the names on their sleeves to show their bond during the festivities. – TimeStamp: 00:25:45
f. ‘Sweethearts’ Candies Started Out as Lozenges The iconic chalky heart-shaped candies that have been passed out lovingly every Valentine’s Day started out as lozenges. According to the Food Business News, pharmacist and inventor Oliver Chase created a machine that would quickly create the lozenges before switching to using the machine to create candy—later known as Necco Wafers. Chase’s brother came up with the idea to print messages on the candy in 1866, and the candies got their heart shape in 1901, appealing specifically to Valentine’s Day sweethearts. In 2019, the Sweetheart brand of conversation hearts was suspended for a year as the candy’s new owner, Spangler Candy Co., needed time to make a supply of the hearts for Valentine’s. – TimeStamp: 00:26:53
g. Cupid Began as a Greek God: The chubby baby with wings and a bow and arrow that we call Cupid has been associated with Valentine’s Day for centuries. However, before he was renamed Cupid, he was known to the ancient Greeks as Eros, the god of love. Eros, the son of Greek goddess Aphrodite, would use two sets of arrows—one for love and another for hate—to play with the emotions of his targets. It wasn’t until stories of his mischief were told by Romans that he adopted the childlike appearance that we recognize today.
i. Bethel refers to God with Eros love… GROSS – TimeStamp: 00:28:48
h. How ‘X’ Came to Mean ‘Kiss’: The idea of using a kiss to sign off on valentines also has a long history, according to the Washington Post. The use of “X” came to represent Christianity, or the cross, in the Middle Ages. During the same time, the symbol was used to sign off on documents. After marking with an X, the writer would often kiss the mark as a sign of their oath. As the gesture grew among kings and commoners to certify books, letters and paperwork, these records were described as having been “sealed with a kiss.” – TimeStamp: 00:30:17
8. Saint Valentine- it’s a hot mess and is no longer considered a saint in 1969. – TimeStamp: 00:32:09
a. Stories aren’t consistent
b. St. Valentine refused to renounce his faith and Christianity and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269. However, other tales of St. Valentine’s life claim he was executed either in the year 269, 270, 273 or 280. Other depictions of St. Valentine’s arrests tell that he secretly married couples so husbands wouldn’t have to go to war. Another variation of the legend of St. Valentine says he refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, was imprisoned and while imprisoned he healed the jailer’s blind daughter. On the day of his execution, he left the girl a note signed, “Your Valentine.”
c. ExCatholic4Christ.wordpress.com
9. Being Single On Valentines Day – TimeStamp: 00:33:55
a. 1 Peter 5:10
i. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
b. Romans 8:28-29
i. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
c. The opportunity of single life to serve God.
10. A great article by John MacArthur called “True Love” – TimeStamp: 00:36:33
a. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/true-love/
b. Most of the talk about love these days ignores this principle. “Love” has been redefined as a broad tolerance that overlooks sin and embraces good and evil alike. That’s not love; it’s apathy. God’s love is not at all like that. Remember, the supreme manifestation of God’s love is the Cross, where Christ “loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (v. 2). Thus Scripture explains the love of God in terms of sacrifice, atonement for sin, and propitiation: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). In other words Christ made Himself a sacrifice to turn away the wrath of an offended deity. Far from dismissing our sins with a benign tolerance, God gave His Son as an offering for sin, to satisfy His own wrath and justice in the salvation of sinners.
That is the very heart of the Gospel. God manifests His love in a way that upheld His holiness, justice, and righteousness without compromise. True love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6). That’s the kind of love we are called to walk in. It’s a love that is first pure, then peaceable.
11. Lauren and Becca share how they celebrate Valentine’s Day – TimeStamp: 00:41:55
12. Favorite Scripture about Love – TimeStamp: 00:46:20
a. Lauren: Phil 2:4
b. Becca: 1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV) 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Audience: Favorite romantic movie? – TimeStamp: 00:52:05
Tulips & Honey 