The Bible Story Family

  For the last four weeks it has been my privilege to present the background research for “The Seven Revivals of the Apocalypse” at Fourth Baptist Church. Pastor Morrell and the rest of the pastoral team invited me to take the five Wednesday nights in January to make that presentation. So there is one week left in the series. I began with Power Point and a discussion of John the Apostle on Patmos. In the following weeks I have covered Ephesus and Smyrna, Pergamum and Thyatira, and Sardis and Philadelphia. This coming Wednesday night I will discuss Laodicea and conclude with a presentation on how each of the seven churches experienced some type of revival upon reception of the letters. The series treats each church as literally existing in the first-century, and not as representative of a church age. To view the presentations, go to fourthbaptist.org/live-stream-archive, and click the link to Wednesday night services. If you are interested in having the presentation at your ch...

  You realized your child was destined for fame on America’s Got Talent when he spouted off all of the side-effects for Ozempic when in the doctor’s office at two years of age. By four you had taught him the entire Greek alphabet. He learned “The Night Before Christmas” on his own simply by hearing it read so many times. Now he repeats all of his favorite books with character voices. He's ready to go on stage. At least out-of-town grandparents are anxious to see him perform. What’s a proud parent to do? Magic tricks? Might be an option except that he would need a sibling side-kick and that hasn’t happened yet. Stand-up comedy? Perhaps, except that he still laughs at his own jokes. Mime? Staying quiet for that long would strain credulity. Animal trainer? Frogs are hard to control. Ventriloquism? Whose going to be the dummy? How about a monologue? Purchase a copy of “Bible Kids Speak Up.” Choose something from children of Egypt, children of Kings, children of Bethlehem,...

  “A Twenty-First Century Restatement” is the subtitle for a new book from Central Seminary Press called “Dispensationalism Revisited.” I was raised by a preacher father who spoke often on prophecy. He led tours to the Holy Land and illustrated his lectures on end times with slides (remember those?) I will admit that he was not above seeing signs of the times such as a computer in Europe called “the beast” and rumors of marble being prepared in Indiana for the rebuilding of the temple. But beyond all that he was an ardent dispensationalist and pre-millennialist. He would have loved this new book. Edited by Kevin Bauder and R. Bruce Compton, the book contains essays by some of my favorite writers. Larry Pettegrew has written on “Israel in the Church Fathers.” W. Edward Glenny wrote the chapter on “Will Jesus Come Before the Millennium? A New Testament Answer from Revelation 20.” And Roy Beacham wrote “Literalism and the Prophets: The Case for a Unified Hermeneutic.” The entire...

  Once upon a time we treasured the handmade ornaments given to us at Christmas by young grandchildren. We still do. But adult grandchildren have stepped up the creativity. Carmen and I received a cookbook for Christmas which we have quickly come to treasure. The cookbook contains recipes contributed by members of the Allen family. Lanie Allen did much of the work of collecting and compiling those recipes. We’ve already tried Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad and Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls and look forward to taste-testing the rest. Breana Hanson came up with the idea for the cookbook and illustrated it with dozens of her “Empty Spaces Art.” Go to Instagram to see her excellent art work. One of our favorite pages lists pizza preferences for all twenty-eight of us. Since Carmen makes pizza every Friday night for any family members who can come, that page alone is worth the price of the cookbook. (Yes, I know it was a gift without price, but the old expression still ring...