**We just sent out the final sermon in the three-part series from Psalm 103. Although it went out to over 5200 people, we have no idea how many will actually receive it because we continue to have problems getting it to the Inbox of all those people. AOL has been blocking the sermons for the last month. We are cautiously hopeful that we have a workable solution. 

**By the way, the sermon is called If God is Sovereign, What Then? 

**Check our our first-ever Christmas podcast called Follow the Christmas Star.

**Since the new KBM website debuted in March, we have had 238,000 visits from 200 countries.

**Looking for some good online Bible commentaries? Check out BibleCentre.org for an outstanding collection of free online resources covering every book in the Bible. 

**Ray Ortlund, Jr. writes an excellent blog called Christ is Deeper Still.

**What does good leadership look like? The general in charge of the British Army writes about Character and Leadership in an Age of Image. Hint: It’s all about integrity. 

**Finally, I love this quote from John Newton about spiritual growth:

Remember, the growth of a believer is not like a mushroom—but like an oak, which increases slowly indeed—but surely. Many suns, showers, and frosts, pass upon it before it comes to perfection. And in winter, when it seems to be dead—it is gathering strength at the root. Be humble, watchful, and diligent in the means, and endeavor to look through all, and fix your eye upon Jesus—and all shall be well.

This week I don’t have enough to make a full column, but here are some items that you might file under the general category of Odds and Ends. 1) Plans for the Bible Reading Marathon (December 28-31) are well underway. By now the 30 Watch Captains are actively recruiting Bible readers for this unique 90-hour event where we will read the entire Bible without stopping, one person after another, from Genesis to Revelation, finishing at the stroke of midnight on December 31. We need a minimum of 360 readers to make this event successful. We will have an open sign-up on Sunday, November 7, to fill up any remaining reading slots.

2) Last year we took a special offering to help fund a food pantry in Moscow run by evangelical Christians. You responded generously and gave over $12,000. We have received numerous reports of hundreds of people being fed. For some of them, the food pantry provided their only good meal each week. Our Russian brothers and sisters have asked if we could help them again this year. The elders have designated the Benevolence Fund offering on Sunday, November 7, to go to the Russia Relief Fund. Please consider making a gift to this worthy cause.

3) Pastor Larry Korbus tells me that today is the final day to buy tickets for the Harvest Festival this coming Saturday night, October 30. It’s time to dig out your western gear, put on your jeans and boots, and join us for this all-church party/hoe-down, hand-clappin, toe-tappin, all-around good time.

4) The best new book I’ve read recently is Chuck Colson’s How Now Shall We Live? Colson offers a brilliant presentation of the Christian worldview, showing how the knowledge of Christ affects every area of life. In it you’ll learn how to spot false teaching your children receive in the classroom (and how to counter it), how to bring your faith into the workplace, and how to present Christianity in a secular environment. The book is published by Tyndale House. I heartily recommend it.

5) On Sunday, November 14, we will have our Biannual Business Meeting. All members are expected to attend. Regular attenders and visitors are welcome. Besides electing elders, deacons and deaconesses, we will approve the 2000 budget and announce the 1999 Staff Member of the Year. We also plan to make a major presentation regarding our building expansion plans. We start with refreshments at 6:00 p.m. in the Dining Room. The meeting begins in the Sanctuary about 6:30 p.m.

6) Name the longest word in the English Bible. Hint: It’s the name of one of Isaiah’s sons.