Greetings from Charlotte,
We are saddened to announce the recent deaths of Mr. Gary Ullerick (age 85), a longtime elder in Washington state, and Alvina Dellinger (age 79), wife of George Dellinger, an elder in Indianapolis. Their races are finished after many years of faithful service. Please pray for Mrs. Ullerick and Mr. Dellinger and their families during this difficult time. Several leading men are traveling to Charlotte from across the country and around the world for the Council of Elders, which meets this coming week for three days. Mr. Rob Tyler is coming from Australia, Mr. Stuart Wachowicz from Canada, and Mr. Adam West from the U.K. There is also a Board of Trustees meeting for Living University scheduled for Thursday. The U.K. entity was under a stressful government audit for about two years, but we were given final notice this past week that the case is closed in the Church's favor with no tax or penalties. We are thankful for the diligent and tedious work put in by Adam West, Simon Roberts, and our outside accounting firm regarding this HMRC audit, and most of all thankful to God for dealing with those matters we have no control over. We are encouraged to report that Sabbath attendance and income in most, if not all of our offices around the world, appear to be picking up the last three months.—GEW
Church Administration
Church Surveys
Over the next couple of months, we will be updating our membership listings. Why is this important? Proverbs 27:23 says, "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks." God expects the Church to care for the flock! Accurate, up-to-date files enable us to send out literature to correct addresses, and enable brethren to register for the Feast. Over the next few weeks, your pastor (or someone to whom he delegates the responsibility) will check with each head of household to make sure that our information is accurate and complete.
Kansas City Family Weekend: December 29-31
The Kansas City Family Weekend is less than two months away! We're so excited about it, we've broken out in rhyme:
Brighten up your dreary days
with a midwest winter escapade.
By plane or train or motorcade,
come join the Kansas City brigade.
Church and fellowship and games well-played
and formal dance with nations portrayed
all beckon you—if we can persuade
your registration with all dues paid.
The airport Embassy Suites awaits
your family for these coming dates:
December 29th through 31st.
The messages all will be well-versed.
The fun show is getting well rehearsed.
Just go get your family registered!
We're all rhymed-out now! Here are some additional details: The Embassy Suites can house up to six people per suite for $109/night + tax. A brisket dinner is priced at $22/plate, and children's chicken fingers meals are $10 or $12, depending on your child's age. We're introducing a costume theme of "Ambassadors from Around the World" for Saturday evening. Come dressed as though you were appearing before important heads of state as a representative for the country of your choice. Don't embarrass them!
Activities for all ages include Bible Studies, a dinner, fun show and dance, family games, sports and gaga ball. We want the Family Weekend to be "all-inclusive," meaning that we want all ages to enjoy the time together, fellowshipping, dining, laughing, dancing and playing. So register to join us this year! Visit our site at kclcg.org (not an official Church website) to register and get the rest of the details. (Any passwords on the site are: security.) See you soon!
Charlotte Family Weekend—Renaissance Suites Room Reservations
We apologize that some of you have had delays and difficulty making reservations at the host hotel, the Renaissance Charlotte Suites. Unfortunately, the hotel adds rooms to our block only after we fill the previous block, which means that when the previous block is filled, new reservations cannot be made until we have added rooms. If you try to make reservations and are told there are no rooms available, please send me an email at [email protected] and let me know. We will contact the hotel to add rooms, and more rooms should then be available within 12 to 24 hours.
Plans for the weekend are progressing well and more details will be announced soon. You can check the Charlotte Family Weekend Facebook page for updates as well. This is a public Facebook page that you can access even if you are not a Facebook user.
Internet
TW Websites in Multiple Languages Experience Traffic Growth—Repeat Announcement
In August and September, we saw unusual year-over-year increases in visitors for all of our main various-language Tomorrow's World websites, for all types of content (booklets, articles, telecasts, commentaries, etc.), and for all types of web traffic (organic search, direct traffic, and advertising). This was very encouraging, especially because we had not increased advertising spending! We want to share with you the following increases in "August-September 2017 compared to August-September 2016" website traffic:
- TomorrowsWorld.org (English) up 25 percent
- MondeDemain.org (French) up 40 percent
- ElMundodeManana.org (Spanish), up 29 percent
- WeltvonMorgen.org (German) up 42 percent
- WereldvanMorgen.org (Dutch) up 31 percent
Other TW websites, such as our Russian, Afrikaans and even some of our smaller regional websites, also showed significant increases. We do not know if these year-over-year increases will continue, but we are very thankful that the last two months were very strong as far as worldwide Internet reach goes! As always, we thank you for your prayers and your support.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Living Youth Program
Teen Bible Studies Resuming
The first Friday night online Teen Bible Study this fall is scheduled for next Friday evening, November 10. The topic is chapter 6 from Mystery of the Ages, "Mystery of the Church." What is the real truth about the Church, the reason for its origin, and its purpose, which has remained hidden from the professing Christian world? The study will be conducted from 8-9 p.m. Eastern time, and the chat room will be open for a half hour before and after the study. This is an important topic you won't want to miss! To join the study, go to http://www.livingyouth.org.—Sheldon Monson
Living University
Visit the Living University Library Online
Libraries traditionally collected and owned only hard-copy books and journals. But, thanks to the Internet and distance learning, libraries worldwide are depending more on online resources. Living University is no exception. The Living University library website, www.livinguniv.com/library, was recently redesigned for use as a powerful tool for Bible learning and study, and is available for use by all God's people with Internet access.
If you haven't explored this website recently, you will want to check it out! The LU library website contains an excellent collection of and links to Bible-related resources and it is free to use. Here you will find links to countless helpful Bible study tools such as: more than 70 different Bible translations, commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, early Christian and Jewish writings, and archived Church of God publications. There are also popular newspapers and magazines; eBooks; tutorials; audio, parallel and interlinear Bibles; historical resources such as Josephus and Eusebius, and much, much more.
We invite you to investigate all that the Living University library website offers. Consider using the LU library website to assist in your personal Bible study as you work to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Comments
Where Is Your Heart? Jesus urged His disciples to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). He said, "My food [My nourishment, what motivates Me] is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34). Jesus was a mission-oriented person who challenged His disciples to follow in His footsteps (Matthew 4:18-22). Truly dedicated Christians are committed to that same mission—preaching the Gospel, warning the world, feeding the flock and being real Christian lights and examples to those around them (Matthew 10:6-7; Mathew 24; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 John 2:15-19). They cannot afford to get side-tracked on peripheral issues or twiggy ideas (2 Timothy 2:14-19). They don't let personal agendas—economic, political or romantic—pull them off course (Matthew 13:18-23). They don't listen to rumors, and they don't stand around and complain—they focus on what is good and what is positive (Philippians 4:8). They don't let interpersonal differences hinder their spiritual growth or their relationship with others (Romans 12:14-18). Their goal is to develop the mind of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). The Sabbath is a good time to ponder the question—Where is Your Heart?
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—November 2, 2017
Watch China! Chinese President Xi Jinping is being called the "most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong," who was the first chairman of China's Communist Party (BBC, October 24, 2017). China's Communist Party just voted to enshrine "Xi Jinping Thought" into the national constitution. This includes many of the leader's approaches to government and geopolitics. Now, many outsiders fear that any attacks against Xi Jinping's decisions or approaches will be viewed as a direct assault on China's government. The recent Party decision to give him wide-ranging powers will embolden the Chinese leader to pursue his political aspirations to restore China's greatness. Although Bible prophecy does not mention China by name, end-time Bible prophecies foretell a time when history's largest-ever army of 200 million will come on the world scene (Revelation 9:13-20) and it appears they will be coming from the east (Revelation 16:12). The resulting conflict will cause massive destruction (Daniel 11:44). God may use Mr. Xi Jinping to fuel the military and industrial buildup necessary to support such a future super-army. For more insights into China's prophesied future, read or listen to "Is This China's Century?"
War Against the Pope? In a unique twist of irony, Pope Francis is loved by many outside of the Catholic church, yet some of his most vehement critics come from within his own group of leaders (The Guardian, October 27, 2017). One prominent priest recently stated in an interview, "We can't wait for him to die. It's unprintable what we say in private. Whenever two priests meet, they talk about how awful Bergoglio [Pope Francis] is… he's like Caligula: if he had a horse, he'd make him cardinal." Nearly a quarter of the College of Cardinals believe the pope is "flirting with heresy" in several doctrinal areas, including homosexuality, marriage and divorce. "The present crisis is the most serious since the liberal reforms of the 1960s spurred a splinter group of hardline conservatives to break away from the church." However, Bible prophecy reveals that the end-time leader of the Catholic church will be closely connected to a European beast power (Revelation 13:12). He will perform deceptive signs and wonders and cause all the world to worship the beast (Revelation 13:12-14). A deceptive religious leader will be emboldened to powerfully support the coming European beast and to deceive many on earth. For more information on this future world-changing figure, be sure to watch "Who Is the Prophesied 'Man of Sin'?"
"The Universe Should Not Actually Exist!" So say scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN (MSN, October 25, 2017). After ten years of study and the development of a research tool that is 350 times more precise than previous tools, a team of brilliant international scientists cannot identify an imbalance between particles and antiparticles that should theoretically exist if the Big Bang itself produced all the matter in the universe. The first author of a paper just published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature states, "All of our observations find a complete symmetry between matter and antimatter, which is why the universe should not actually exist." So, where is the problem? Do scientists need even more sensitive equipment to identify the theoretical asymmetry in matter? Is it possible that matter did not form directly from the Big Bang, as scientists currently believe? The Apostle Paul revealed that even "the foolishness of God is wiser than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25). He also warned against those "professing to be wise" but who are truly foolish (Romans 1:22). Human beings are incredibly intelligent and they continue to learn more and more about creation. However, science often chooses to ignore answers that it does not want to hear. If you want to know more about why the universe exists and where it came from, read "Origins of the Universe."—Scott Winnail, Chris Sookdeo, Francine Prater and John Strain