The Bible Story Family

  TOP TEN REASONS WHY YOU DON’T NEED THIS BOOK! You already know everything that’s in the Bible. You already understand God perfectly. You lack nothing in your spiritual growth. You can give Bible lessons off the top of your head. You have no curiosity about anything the Bible teaches. Your valuable time must be invested in playing video games. Purchasing a latte is more important than investing in this book. You don’t really believe you could ever write a Bible commentary.                You have decided to wait until the movie comes out.                  Pigs don’t fly yet. AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.

  Imagine the Danish String Quartet’s arrangements of Nordic folk tunes played by a group of musicians in Montana. But wait, you don’t have to use your imagination. There is a group in Montana called Stillwater Strings, which according to violinist Lindsey Selman has been “smitten” with those folk tune arrangements. And that’s only a part of what they enjoy. They revel in the classics such as Debussy’s Claire de Lune . Their repertoire includes Latin music, traditional music, and Jazz standards, such as Cole Porter’s You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To. These beautiful arrangements are played at weddings in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Idaho. They have performed at the Strawberry Festival in Billings, Montana, and at non-profit events for groups such as LaVie, an early pregnancy center, and Family Services. They’ve been included in concerts with the Billings Symphony, Rocky Mountain College, and the Yellowstone Chamber Players. Stillwater Strings began as a traditional str...

  When Ana Bruck’s father returned from military service with PTSD, the family got involved with a horse therapy program called Little Blessings. The Military Kids’ program uses horses to help kids adjust to the difficult parts of military family life. Ana began volunteering with Little Blessings, brushing horses and cleaning manure. She also rode a Clydesdale named Blessing. It was her mother who suggested that she write and illustrate a book about the experience. The result was “Hope On Four Hooves.” Begun when she was only fourteen, the book was completed a year later. Her brother Zeke helped publish it through Ingram Spark and made it available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Little Blessings gifts one to each military child who goes through their program. That experience led to another adventure in illustrating. In the spring of 2024, Ana entered a VFW national art competition with a charcoal drawing of a Vietnam veteran and his dog Lucky. The dog had died in Vietnam savin...

  The endless variety of God’s creation never ceases to amaze. We recently visited the Como Park Conservatory which has a room dedicated entirely to ferns. There are more than 10,500 varieties of ferns in the world. They come in an astonishing variety of sizes, and shapes, in endless shades of green, but never with flowers Why? Because the Creator of the universe loves variety. Sometimes we get so focused on defending the Creator that we forget to glory in His creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork,” said the Psalmist. 200 billion, trillion stars in the universe. 900,000 species of insects. 10,000 bird species. 1.5 million animal species. 400,000 types of flowers. 25,000 species of fish. Glory in His creation. Stand in awe of the endless variety of His creative mind. Marvel at His handiwork. Rejoice in the beauty of our Father’s world. Savor the delicacies of His table. Exult in the splendor of His sunrises and sunsets. Deli...

  The question came out of the blue—             “Which of your writings have seen the widest geographical distribution?” It could have been the play “The House of Agatha Mystrie” which was re-printed in Dutch, or the article “The Forgotten Joseph” which was translated into Portuguese. But the most likely answer is “The Expository Sermon: Cultural or Biblical? That article first appeared in “The Journal of Ministry and Theology,” published by Baptist Bible Seminary. When I began teaching online for Liberty University, they reprinted it as part of their online publications called Scholars Crossing. There, the article has been downloaded 1300 times. Those downloads have taken place literally around the world. You can read “The Expository Sermon: Cultural or Biblical” without charge. Go to Scholars Crossing and click on Authors under the Browse heading. Scroll down to Allen, Robert and you will find the article available...

  The greatest gift ever given was our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here are some other gifts which make up our Christmas Gift Quiz. Go to biblestoryfamily.com/blog for the answers. 1.      How might Joseph and Mary have used the gifts from the Magi? a.       To treat arthritis. b.      To finance the trip down to Egypt. c.       To rent a room so they could get out of the stable. 2.      What is the approximate value in today’s money of the perfume Mary poured on the feet of Jesus? a.       A thousand dollars. b.      Ten thousand dollars. c.       A year’s wages. 3.      How many pounds of myrrh and aloes did Nicodemas give for the burial of Jesus? a.       75. b.      50. c.       25. 4.  ...

  Cowboy poet, R. P. Smith will be featured at “A Taste of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.” That event takes place in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo events. The Poetry Gathering will happen at the Ahern Luxury Boutique Hotel, December 12-14. I first met R. P. Smith on the occasion of the One Hundredth Anniversary of Maxwell Baptist Church. He had written a poem in honor of that celebration and shared it with us during the Anniversary service along with other cowboy selections he had written. We also had a gospel quartet come that weekend along with several former pastors of the church. Attendance at the weekend events exceeded the population of the town of Maxwell. R.P. returned to Maxwell several times during our tenure as pastor. He shares a great testimony for Christ in a unique fashion as a cowboy poet. If you are attending the National Finals Rodeo, be sure to stop by the Ahern and hear him as well.