In preparation for tonight’s KBM home meeting in Tupelo, Marlene made one of my favorite Christmas treats, Christmas sausage balls. This is the sort of appetizer that works well for almost any occasion. Marlene started making these early in our marriage, and as the boys came along, sausage balls became part of our Christmas family traditio…
Last Sunday the pastor made a passing comment that has stayed with me. While preaching about Jesus bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders (“the government will be on his shoulders,” Isaiah 9:6), he remarked that Christmas is the season for fixing thing. “I’m a fixer,” he said. He went to say that some pe…
I am pleased to announce that LibriVox has just released the first-ever audio version of J. C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on Matthew. LibriVox makes free recordings of books in the public domain. In this particular case, the Ryle recordings were made by KBM board member MaryAnn Spiegel. Readers of this blog know that I am big fan of J. C…
A few days ago Marlene finished baking 43 dozen cookies for the KBM China home meetings tomorrow night and next Monday night here in Tupelo. One of her newest creations (to me, at least) was the “Oreo Tuxedo,” a delectable item that is so simple that even I could make it. Here’s the recipe:Oreo cookies.Cream cheese.Crush the c…
A few days ago we lost a good friend when Dr. Everett Van Reken passed away. My sadness is mixed with gladness because having reached the age of 93, Dr. Van Reken was fully prepared to meet the Lord.I first met him when he came to hear me preach in Oak Park. Later he became one of the first members of the KBM Board of Reference. He and his dear wif…
For eleven years my good friend Steve Tanner has been sponsoring the 25 Days of Christmas Music. Starting on December 1, he gives away a free Christmas song each day, ending on December 25. This year’s theme is “Navidaddy,” which means that each song references babies or children in the title. You’ll have to read the rest …
In the past few years we’ve heard some amazing stories of how An Anchor for the Soul has been distributed in some very unlikely places. But recently we heard a story that caught us completely by surprise.This is about Anchor at a strip club. A few months ago we donated copies of Anchor to a crisis pregnancy center. They primarily use the book…
The Bible tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), but sometimes it’s not easy to do.Last Sunday our pastor made a passing comment that seemed exactly right to me. “This may have been the worst year of your life. If so, give thanks that you have survived it."We all chuckled knowingly becau…
This picture tells you all you need to know.I’m in there somewhere, along with about 175 students. We took the picture after the final session on Daniel this morning. Since Tuesday I’ve had the privilege of teaching these students for 10 hours.Someday soon they will be pastors and missionaries. Someday soon they will be youth pastors.So…
This morning I finish teaching the book of Daniel to the students at Word of Life Bible Institute in Hudson, Florida. Since this is my fourth year to teach this one-week course, I’ve gotten a bit of rhythm in my teaching. Each year we start off strong with the story of Daniel and his friends courteously but firmly refusing to eat the food at …