The Bible Story Family

    Sending your oldest child off to college can be traumatic for parents. At the same time it can engender reactions in grandparents as well. Parents, for example, may be concerned as to how the child will survive without them. A grandparent may have concern about how the parents will survive without the child. Christian parents and grandparents will share a mutual concern for the spiritual development of a student during college years. Don Odens decided that seeing his oldest grandson off to higher education required positive action on his part. Even before the new term began, he started writing letters.   That’s right—letters. The themes he chose were similar based around the phrase “You can expect to--.” You can expect to not know everything! You can expect to be poor! You can expect attacks on your faith in Christ! You can expect to be tempted to sin against God! You can expect to face powerful sexual temptation! His grandson will receive these ...

  It has often been said that we write out of our own experiences. The statement is certainly true of Shelli Virtue. She began writing her first Bible study when her husband served time in prison for 3 ½ years. She called it “The Road to Relationship: A Journey through the book of Matthew.” Amazingly (according to statistics), their marriage survived. Another challenge for Shelli has been the raising of a disabled child, which has fueled her understanding of studies like “Humility: Insight into God’s Kingdom,” and “Unpacking Your Pain: Complete Healing through Lamentations.” Although Shelli began to write in order to work through issues in her own life, she has continued that process in order to create Bible studies which encourage, inspire and provide practical tools for spiritual growth and change. The Bible studies are available on Amazon, the Barnes and Noble website, and at ShelliVirtue.com. The next project includes a study of the disciples. “I will continue to write ...

“Jeopardy” remains one of the few television shows watched regularly at the Allen house. Perhaps that explains why I have discerned some methods of Bible study prompted by constant viewing of the “answers and questions” format of the popular show. There are people who consider the necessity of Bible study only when they are in jeopardy. If a big enough problem arises, they go to the scriptures. Otherwise, seeking wisdom from God apparently takes too much effort. That is a “Jeopardy” method of Bible study I would not recommend. The method I would recommend stems from the “answers and questions” format popularized by the program. All the clues are presented in the form of answers and all responses must be in the form of questions. Using that method would dramatically alter the way we approach scripture. Too often we come to the Bible with a question, searching for an answer to that specific question. However, the Bible does not have the answers to all our questions. It doesn’t te...

  For more than thirty years Pastor Tom Brock has produced a cable television program called “The Pastor’s Study.” The program is available in the Twin Cities of Minnesota on cable, but has also found its way into syndication throughout the United States, and can be viewed on You Tube. On July 4, Pastor Brock interviewed me on a program he called “Revival and Biblical Preaching.” We discussed the ministry of Billy Sunday as well as my new novel “Sunday in New York.” Topics included the need for revival in America as well as the distinctions between an evangelist and a revivalist. The program can be viewed on You Tube by following this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaRFH4JqpWQ “Sunday In New York” has been published by CrossLink. It can be ordered for $11.95 from Robert Allen, PO Box 28342, Minneapolis, MN, 55428.