Information Related to "VCM Letters to the Editor: February 1999"
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Letters to the Editor Rekindle the Flames of Fellowship Thank you very much for your article on "Rekindling our Flames of Fellowship." Our area has had quite a few people leave our church in this past year. I really believe that if some of them had heard a powerful message like this one, some may still be here with us today. The church area we formerly attended before moving here was a very close knit people. (I amd going to suggest that my husband give a sermonette on this very same subject... Again, thank you.. -- HMB I really appreciated the "Rekindle the Flames of Fellowship" article by Dan Taylor on VCM. First time I've visited the site. It's great! Thanks for your efforts. -- Mike Thanks for your article. It is very helpful because I see where I have been judgmental of others who have not tried to fellowship in the way I think they should. Will God bring new people into a congregation with this environment? Also, it seems more that being out sight is being out mind. If one in a congregation has a problem and stops attending, it's as if they don't exist any longer. Please continue with this subject not only through this medium but with the ministry and the church as a whole. The ministry is still the beacon for everyone to follow. The ministry and leadership of a congregation set the tone and condition of the congregation. Thanks again for your article and help. -- CC Can a Christian survive as a loner? It's possible, but it's much better to be with others as we face our life's challenges. I have read D. Taylor's articles before. God brings man's experience to the loneliness of being alone as in the case of Job to bring about man's need of God, Joseph to bring about the power and the glory of God, Paul in prison to complete the word of God, etc. Have we considered Elijah's "I am the only one left" or Jesus' Gethsemane, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" I find the article full of "hope" for one naming the name of Christ out of a clean heart. Job's realization, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee" is farthest to the consummation of a loner's expectations because a loner's focus is on him/herself rather than his/her God. Christ is focused on the will of the Father. Congratulations on the new VCM endeavour. -- EV I enjoyed your article very much. This seemed to fit me to a "Tee" (and no I don't golf). I've had a lot happen to me since I quit congregating since about 1985 or so. I won't go into detail, but I watched Mr. Armstrong on TV and when he died I really started studying the Bible and requesting a lot of literature (which I still do). I would study at home on the Sabbath and on God's holy days for about 2 or 3 years before I finally called the church and talked to a minister. I never realized how much different it was to study in a group than by yourself. I could feel gods spirit with us way more than when I would try to study by myself which I still notice to this day. I know Satan has pulled my away from God as he tries to do with all of Gods people. I never was baptized; I kept waiting for what I thought was the right time. I know now that if I would have kept congregating and was baptized back then and obeyed Gods commandments that Satan would have never drawn me from God so easily. I plan on contacting UCG soon and talking to a minister about returning to church again, I know that God is still calling me to serve. This time when I go back I feel that there won't be no turning back as I did previously. I hope to see you soon, on some Sabbath or Holy Day maybe the Feast of Tabernacles. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!! -- TLS Virtual Christian Magazine I am glad to see the VCM finally up and running. I know that this is an encouragement to all of us. -- RH I just had a chance to look at your new on-line magazine. It looks to me as though you have a winner. Keep up the good work! Mr. Gerald Waterhouse gave a sermon a while back stating that the church was going to eventually get on a big "Superstation." That "Superstation" is the Internet - a terrific tool for spreading the Gospel around the world. -- TR You and your team are doing an important work. It will help our group of 35 or so here in Lawton, Oklahoma. -- GB I just finished printing the entire January 1999 VCM. I'm going to place it on the info table at church next week, and offer to make copies for anyone who would like their own. So far, I've just skimmed through it as it was printing, but it looks like it has a little something for everyone. I'll let you know how it's received at church. Question: Are you in need of any articles for the VCM? If so, any particular subjects that come to mind? Looking forward to more VCM's in the future, -- JJ ED: We are always looking for good material. Please read the editorial in the first issue of Virtual Christian Magazine to see what kind of material we're looking for. Can I subscribe to Virtual Christian Magazine? I would like to have hard copies for my library. If so, what is the cost and how often is it issued? -- JW ED: Sorry, but VCM is an online magazine only. If you want hard copy articles, articles, you will have to print them yourself. We are very flattered by responses like yours from our first day online. Any suggestions for improvement would be greatly appreciated. I think what you and the Church are doing is wonderful. As one who lives in a somewhat isolated area and not always able to gather every week with brethren, the Internet has been a great tool for keeping in touch and further my knowledge of the Gospel of Christ and the soon coming Kingdom of God. Shaping the Heart and Soul "What greater challenge than to help shape a young person's mental, physical, and spiritual growth? What greater responsibility than to help a young person develop to their fullest potential?" Thanks for the VCM, and the lead article "Shaping the Heart and Soul". My wife and I are just beginning our family. We have a son of 8 months and hope to add one brother or sister, beginning sometime in 1999. We will appreciate any help you can offer with 'shaping our children's hearts and souls. We, of course want to do everything we can to help them develop to their full potential. And that includes their spiritual potential. Please provide information in the future about how to teach them "when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" [Deut. 6:7]. Hearing instruction on this most important responsibility over and over from God's ministry will be essential for the development of the next generation of God's church. Also, please include any hints that may have been learned over the last few decades about how to positively share God's Truth with those who are "second generation Christians" growing up in God's Church. Thank you for your superb work. -- LD My compliments to Joanne Rutis. I appreciated her article. I have "been there, seen that," as the saying goes. I've been the adult helping out, as well as the mother watching what happens to her kids. She had some excellant points. Thanks. -- NC I'd like to comment on the article by Joanne Rutis on influencing the kids-- her article is a realy good example of something many other articles and sermons lack-- she used lots of real life examples and didn't pull any punches about them. I'm of the firm conviction that our publications, while they certainly proclaim the truth with integrity, they have always lacked a personal side. Examples of real life to learn from seem to be, for a variety of reasons avoided, or if used they are often poor. Our kids really need the personal connection in the sermons. So do the rest of us really. I often think that behind this tendacy is a reluctance to appear emotional. But it takes more than dry truth to convert the heart. -- SH As a parent of 4 young teenagers in God's church, I can not thank the church enough for the articles and bible studies. We parents have a hard time dealing with the pressures that this world throw at our teenagers. The bible studies gives my wife and I a resource that our parents did not have when we were growing up in the church. At that time we were accepted to do what we were told and when we were told to do it and not ask "why". I was fortunate to have a mentor. She started out just being a tutor for English, but she taught me more than just English. She taught me that the world is not just black and white that God created color. As I look at my own sons and try to be the best parent I can, I must understand my short comings and that's where the bible studies come in. To study for myself is no problem but to help my sons understand is where I have a difficult time, the bible studies help my wife and I to understand different angles of the subjects that we have been taught from a young age. The ideas brought out in this article only build on the principals that my mentor taught me. I can see if we as parents would open our eyes and minds and take to heart what we are being taught, our children will benefit more.Who knows we just might become closer to children. -- JJ Jr. Copyright 1999 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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