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Post by Soulfyre on Nov 9, 2004 2:06:14 GMT -5
This is the first of a thread that will be largely restricted to Administrators and General Moderators for posting of current news and topics of importance. I recommend that you check here when you first log in for the most recent post. I will try to highlight current topics that I believe are of particular interest. Welcome a-board! Matthew
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Post by Soulfyre on Nov 9, 2004 2:19:02 GMT -5
Don't forget to stop by our new members area, "Introductions all around...", and see if there is anyone new you haven't welcomed to our fellowship. The most rewarding thing we can give one another is our encouragement and recognition! Our board, "The Christian and the Arts", now features the lyrics of some of the music of DarkLayStill, a Christian band with "black" metal musical stylings and an "in your face" Christian witness! You will find them in the thread, "The Musical Christian", posted by TheArchDuke. Our "Newsstand" board features a link to a provocative article by Mark Noll in the magazine, First Things. I'm still awaiting some of your opinions on this article. Our board, "The Better Book Room" now included a thread entitled "Soulfyre's Book of the Month." I am going to start recommending one book per month that I have been reading. I hope we may start discussing our reading more often. And that's how it is... Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Nov 18, 2004 23:32:53 GMT -5
Whew! Almost Thanksgiving...I know because Christmas displays went up about two-and-one-half weeks ago. It is the only Holiday in the United States devoted to God, and God alone, yet it always seems to get lost between Halowe'en and Christmas. I'm so thankful for all of you who have been contributing to our forum as you have time (even those who have registered, but haven't yet had time)! I hope you are finding this to be a place where you can share your thoughts and feelings, your questions and your study, your prayers and your praises, and your love and encouragement freely with other brothers and sisters in Christ. And I'm thankful for Melinda, who has been so faithful to put in time as a global moderator to help keep the conversations rolling. Our small forum is beginning to grow as more people are being invited to join in our fellowship, and she has worked hard to make everyone feel welcome. I'm sure you have enjoyed her input as much as I have! I hope you will invite your friends to register and participate. It is word of mouth that will keep us growing and keep our fellowship vital. If you haven't found someone in our forum with like interests, but know someone who has access to a computer and the internet...invite them along! We'll be the richer for it. God bless and keep you all, Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Dec 8, 2004 16:23:25 GMT -5
We have another new board on the forum, dedicated to Bible study. I hope this will become a welcome addition. I have begun with a study of the birth of Jesus Christ, or Ye'shua Ha Moshiach, to coincide with Advent. I will soon add a study on the Pastoral Epistles of Paul (I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus), which are instructive to those who have been called by God to positions of Christian leadership. While these epistles are primarily applicable to those who are called to be in authority in the Christian community, they have prinicples that apply to us all. I still hope to find moderators for the sections dedicated to Youth, Women, and Men. I am also searching for moderators from Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Presbyterian (Reformed) backgrounds to guide discussions concerning their theological distinctives in The Church: Past, Present, and Future. So keep watching...I'm still working! God bless you all, Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Dec 17, 2004 3:08:34 GMT -5
Only eight more days until we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and I must hasten to complete my study, A Harmonius Advent. However, I had long promised a friend to complete a study concerning The Bible and Homoeroticism, so I have taken a brief interlude to do so. You will find it in the Bible Studies board. I sincerely hope it will be helpful. After all, the good news concerning the coming of Ye'shua Ha Mosiach (Jesus, the Messiah), applies to all of us. And what more joyful news to the one struggling with their self-identification as homosexual than that there is forgiveness and acceptance from God in Jesus Christ, and that one can experience a fundamental change in one's life because of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus--God with us! I hope that we can reflect on this time when in a moment the world was truly surprised by Joy in the humble form of a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes...the Bread of Heaven lying in a food trough! God bless us, every one! Matthew (souflyre)
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Post by melinky on Dec 17, 2004 7:55:42 GMT -5
I hope that we can reflect on this time when in a moment the world was truly surprised by Joy in the humble form of a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes...the Bread of Heaven lying in a food trough! God bless us, every one! Matthew (souflyre) When you mention the Bread of Heaven lying in a food trough, I am reminded of one of the things we learned about the birth of Christ in our Advent study at church. In the story of the birth of Christ, we are told that the shepherds were tending their flocks when they saw a bright star in the night. There was only one time of the year when the shepherds were out at night and that was during the birthing season. The rest of the year, the flocks were gathered and taken into caves or pens where they could be better protected. During birthing season, they stayed in the fields to keep the little lambs from being trampled in the close quarters of the caves or pens. It was very important that these lambs were protected because most of the lambs would have been used as sacrificial lambs in the temple. Thus we have the Lamb of God, who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world, born at the same time as the lambs that would be ongoing sacrifices for the sins of individuals. Yours in Christ, Melinda
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Post by Soulfyre on Dec 17, 2004 9:46:37 GMT -5
Amen, Melinda!
You're liable to see something about "birthing season" when I do a study on the dating of Christ's birth (and why it wasn't in the "bleak midwinter", despite the English carol).
God bless,
Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Dec 23, 2004 4:12:25 GMT -5
Did you know we now have 18 members in our forum? And we are so fortunate to have been blessed with such faithful participants. Now by faithful I am not speaking simply of a multitude of posts or the magnitude of posts (although I can talk the leg of a horse), but I'm speaking of people who consider their posts carefully, who study their Bibles and grapple with their faith and practice intently, and who share honestly. It has been such a personal blessing in my life, as I am continually learning from your all. It has been great to see new members like Kenny, worthily, rgrove, and PaxJohn, who already manage to keep Melinda and I busy! And it was great to hear from fairbank, who, given his demanding schedule, has been able to post, and from whom we will hear more. Be sure to check out the new threads posted by Kenny on the "Topics in Theology" board. They should keep us busy for awhile. Also, the discussions concerning Orthodoxy on "The Church: Past, Present and Future" board are particularly instructive. I'm beginning to hear more of wives, whom I hope will add their participation and insights to our growing family. I am still haranguing fairbank's wife to become involved. Hopefully I will meet with success before the return of Jesus Christ for his church. This forum is not, after all, a "men only" club. I am hopeful than several of our members, who have been inundated with school and other time-intensive involvements will have more time to share over the upcoming holidays. God bless and keep you all, as we rejoice in the Good Gift of Jesus, the Messiah, our Saviour and Lord... Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Dec 31, 2004 4:58:24 GMT -5
Fast away the old year passes! As you can see, I have added much needed instructions to the "Definitions" board, and have added separate boards for Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and the Churches of the Reformation (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed Baptist). I believe this will help in organizing some of our topics! Remember to invite your friends to participate! God bless and keep you, and guide you in his ways throughout this New Year! Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Jan 19, 2005 1:34:36 GMT -5
Well, Happy New Year (belatedly)! As you can see, many changes have occurred on our board. We have a new (and hopefully static) color scheme with icon graphics submitted by Melinda. I hope you like the look. Let me know what you think! I am very encouraged by the growth of our forum and the depth of our interaction. I am not simply talking about erudition. I am talking about the issues that have been brought forward for discussion. We are also blessed with faithful members who are serious students of the Bible, theology, and a variety of aspects of the Christian life. They are willing to share their knowledge, invest their time in study, and...admit when they're wrong. This is unusual and should be cherished and supported in prayer. And God has blessed us with new members! It is both exciting and sobering. If you have not participated in awhile, or have limited time, I still hope that you will drop by and share a little of yourself with us, whether Bible studies, sincere questions, prayers and praises, or other pieces of information helpful to the community. It needn't be a long or scholarly dissertation. Just let us know how you are doing. I will be looking forward to hearing from each of you this coming year. And be sure to invite a friend! May God bless and keep you always in the palm of His hand, Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Jan 21, 2005 18:27:13 GMT -5
I thought it a good idea to add musical capability to my blogsite, Soulfyre's Confessions of a Daily Christian, to share some of the contemporary music that moves me to worship. I am unsure of how to accomplish the same on the forum, and am not sure that to do so would be effective. I never really appreciate sites that have background music that one cannot effectively "turn off" without muting their computer; hearing the same piece of music the 15th time after checking back on a website eventually moves me from worship to distraction, especially if it is of the "head-banging"variety. It is not that I cannot appreciate your more driving style of metal music, but like really rich food, a little bit goes a LONG way. On my blogsite, you must actually click on the selection to hear the music. Otherwise, you may read in blessed silence. I hope that my occasional music selections may stimulate discussion concerning the use of music in worship. Soli Deo Gloria, Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Feb 7, 2005 13:43:36 GMT -5
I hope that you will forgive the sparseness of my posting recently. I am, in fact, working both upon writing and adding new members. As you know, both are challenging. I am also riding fire on completing the structure of a six-week study course on the Pastoral Epistles. But I hope to add some more posts soon, and help to kick-start some more conversations. Thank you all for your faithfulness, among both participants and readers. It is gratifying to have your postings AND your prayers. It is my desire that this website become a source of learning, of wrestling with the substance of our faith, and with mutual encouragement to live Christianly in all things. As you have time, invite your friends to participate. If you have topics that you wish to see addressed on a more formal basis, please let me know (or simply post them). And in all, may God always bless you and keep you, Matthew (soulfyre)
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Post by Soulfyre on Feb 18, 2005 5:12:04 GMT -5
I'm sure that most of you are aware by now of my studies in Orthodoxy. These studies have challenged my understanding of authority, and my thinking is reflected in our Statement of Belief and Our Ground Rules.... I am wrestling with much in the area of faith and practice, although because the Orthodox church is very "evangelical" in its theology (or as a matter of precedent, it might be more accurate to say evangelical theology is, in many ways, very Orthodox), don't expect any "day and night' transitions concerning my Theology Proper, my Christology, my Soteriology, or my Bibliology. You may find some modifications of my understanding of the Solas (although not as you might expect--I will be discussing those at more length later). I invite questions and responses, and request your patience as I work through these issues. I do not believe you will find, however, that I am undertaking to encourage either heresy or apostasy. I still believe and state with conviction the Nicene Creed. I still believe that my salvation is all of grace, neither merited nor achieved by works. I still believe that Jesus Christ is the One mediator between God and humanity. I have not adopted popish doctrines of purgatory or the dogmatic infallibility of the magesterium of the church at Rome. I also believe that the "church" of God is not necessarily limited to the baptismal waters of the Orthodox communion (such would limit God's work of salvation). Yes, I appear to be moving toward the Orthodox church. But in doing so, I am not moving away from you all. in fact, I have not really moved at all--at least formally. I share this because it is, in fact, new, and I don't want to catch any of you "unawares". You will still find this an area that is congenial to evangelical (and particularly Reformed) theology. There is much yet I have to learn, and you all provide a great source of that learning, and a community whose support and prayers I covet. God bless and keep you all, always, in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, Matthew (soulfyre)
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