Greetings from Charlotte,
Severe weather is making news again around the world. In recent weeks, heavy rains have not only drenched the southern part of the USA; they have caused floods, landslides and death in East Africa along with threat of cholera outbreaks from broken sewer lines in residential areas. In India, a record heat wave has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people. In California, a four-year drought continues to plague one of the most populous and agriculturally productive states in America—as Bible prophecies continue to come alive today. This past Sabbath, Dr. Meredith gave a moving sermon here in Charlotte on "Building a Team." This week he has been conducting meetings and yesterday taped a segment for the "Behind the Work" film that will be shown at the Feast of Tabernacles. Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka reports that a two-minute promotional video that we posted on Facebook about God's Church went viral and has been seen by more than 300,000 viewers (see announcement below). Mr. and Mrs. Ames have returned from an encouraging Pentecost trip to Montana. Mr. Simon Muthama has returned to Nairobi after a very profitable trip to Tanzania and Western Kenya. I will leave this week for South Africa and the UK for congregational visits and several conferences. We also have a number of ministerial families who will be moving this summer. Please remember the needs of God's Work and His people in your prayers.—DSW
Church Administration
Festival (Second Tithe) Assistance Requests—U.S. Only—Must Read
Attention U.S. Pastors: The deadline to submit Festival Assistance Request forms to the Church Administration Department is Wednesday, July 15. All forms should be properly completed by the members requesting second tithe assistance to attend the Feast this year. Then, the Area Pastors should write their recommendations/comments on the forms before submitting them to CAD. Festival Assistance Request forms are available to ministers on the MyLCG Web site (www.cogl.org). Note: Members requesting second tithe assistance should plan to attend their assigned site, unless there are extenuating circumstances.—Festival Office
Living Church News Announcements
Area Pastors and elders, please remember that when the brethren in your area have a milestone event—a birth, death, wedding, major anniversary or ordination—we want to report it in the Living Church News. Because the LCN comes out just six times a year, it is easy to forget to send in the announcement; then before you know it your week-old news isn't printed until five months after the event! So, please try to remember to send your news promptly to the Church Administration Department, either to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Remember that because of the print/mail schedule, news submitted for the September-October issue will generally need to arrive by mid-June; news for November-December by mid-August, and so on. Thank you for your prompt reporting of these events that are so meaningful to our brethren!
Africa Update
On March 1, I began a trip to Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana and Ethiopia, with Dr. Akin-Ogundeji joining me in Nigeria. In Cameroon, before giving a Tomorrow's World Presents in Bamenda, I met the director of a TV station that airs the Tomorrow's World television program in Africa and who also directs a radio station. This man recorded a short interview about the Tomorrow's World presentation which he later aired on seven other radio stations. Seven new people were able to attend the presentation; others had planned to come but did not make it. Because of their interest in following up on what they learned, I discussed Sabbath meeting arrangements with them. Together, Dr. Akin and I held Sabbath services for 42 people in Togo and counselled and baptized two people at the hotel where the Feast of Tabernacles will be held—a more tranquil baptismal than the river, home of snakes, crocodiles and hippos! In Benin, we conducted an evening Bible Study and another baptism. The brethren in Benin travel to Nigeria for the Holy Days and the Feast of Tabernacles so were particularly appreciative of ministers coming to their country. In Ghana, we conducted the funeral service of long-time member Mr. Stephen K. Agyemang-Duah. Among the 250 people who came to the funeral were 40 "chief mourners" from the elders of the local community, who came to pay their last respects and offer comfort to the family of a man they held in highest regard for his unwavering faith and his quiet gentlemanly manners and example. Sabbath services were held in Nigeria on March 14 and two more young men were baptized the next day. Baptismal and marriage counselling and a Bible Study were conducted in Ethiopia. "Overall, it was a very successful trip and we thank God for the opportunity to serve His people in Africa. Please pray for them; they keep you all in their prayers."—Rees Ellis
Internet Department
Viral Facebook Video and Top YouTube Video
It has been exciting to see the growth of our Internet video reach. For example, recently one of our brief promotional videos titled "Where Is God's True Church?" (less than two minutes long) "went viral" on Facebook. We will often spend five or ten dollars to advertise a video, but with more than 312,000 Facebook video views (and counting!) this video has blown far past any prior videos in its "viral" reach—and with no out-of-the-ordinary advertising by us! Also, through a mix of advertising and organic views, Mr. Ames' recent telecast titled "The Mystery of Life After Death" recently passed 575,881 viewing minutes on our YouTube channel—that is more than 9,590 viewing hours! Of course, in addition to promoting the telecast and other videos on our English-language Facebook page (more than 139,000 fans) and our English-language YouTube channel (more than 5,000,000 views), we place videos on our Tomorrow's World French YouTube channel, our Spanish YouTube channel, on Roku, Amazon, Apple, other Facebook pages, other YouTube channels and more. Please continue to pray that God will keep opening these doors for us to reach more and more people around the world. And, please keep "sharing and liking" Tomorrow's World articles and videos. That really helps!—Wyatt Ciesielka, Director of Internet
Feast of Tabernacles
General FOT Activity Registration (and Payments) To Open Sunday, July 12
Beginning July 12, all LCG members and guests attending the Feast of Tabernacles will be invited to begin registering for activities at their respective Feast sites. Payments for activities will also be able to be made at that time. Activity Registration and payment will be made via your MyLCG account, through the Festival Web site. (To access the Festival Web site, go to www.lcg.org and click on "Feast of Tabernacles.")
Various Feast-site activities are being posted now on the Festival microsites, for informational and planning purposes. (For those planning on going to the Feast in Hawaii, activity registration will begin sooner—please note the announcement below.)
Hawaii FOT Activity Early-Registration (and Payments) Opening Soon
Feast-goers attending Hawaii for the Feast of Tabernacles this year are requested to sign up for and pay for activities early. This is necessary so we can provide venues with down payments for some activities. We will soon be letting everyone know when Hawaii Activity Registration will open—stay tuned!
Living Youth Program
Ohio Teen Camp 2015
The Master Schedule for summer camp is now available on the Living Youth Web site. All Activity Directors should check this schedule of classes to verify the number of classes you will be responsible to write lesson plans for. An updated "Staff List" has also been posted—as of Friday, June 5.—Sheldon Monson
Adventure Camp 2015 – Grand Teton National Park
The Trip Itinerary for the Adventure Camp is now available on the Living Youth Web site (as of Friday, June 5).—Sheldon Monson
Comments
What Does God Require? What is God looking for in those He calls? What has God always looked for? God told Abraham, "walk before Me and be blameless" (Genesis 17:1)—and Abraham was blessed for keeping God's commandments (Genesis 26:5). God told the Israelites that He wanted them to fear Him, love Him, walk in all His ways and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Solomon wrote that God looks for kindness in people (Proverbs 19:22), and Isaiah states that God looks for a humble and repentant spirit in people who "tremble at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). Micah reveals that God requires us to "do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly" before Him (Micah 6:8). Jesus continued this same theme by urging His disciples to "be perfect [become spiritually mature and blameless], just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Jesus also taught His disciples, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). The commandments of God show us how to love God and how to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-40). The book of Revelation reveals that at the end of the age, God's people will still "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17)—because this is what God requires and this is the way to a better life.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—June 4, 2015
India's Deadly Heat Wave: A severe heat wave in India has killed over 2,300 in the past week as temperatures have climbed above 47 Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) (CNN, June 2, 2015). "Authorities have cancelled doctors' leave and advised people not to head outside in the middle of the day to avoid the worst of the heat. However for many Indians, staying indoors is not an option. 'I get headaches, fever sometimes. But (if I stay indoors) how will I make money?' scrap collector Akhlaq, 28, said" (Telegraph, May 29, 2014). "May and June are India's hottest months, with temperatures regularly pushing above 40 Celsius. But meteorologists say the number of days when temperatures approach 45 Celsius has increased in the past 15 years" (ibid.). As India suffers through extreme heat, California is preparing to begin the summer with the Sierra Mountains at none of their normal snowpack—meaning there will be no snowmelt to replenish streams, rivers and lakes. This prompted one journalist to predict "apocalypse soon" (Yahoo News, May 30, 2015). While Texas has literally been "under water" due to heavy rains, other places around the globe seem to be "burning up." For more than a decade, this Work has warned, "Most scientists are beginning to realize that the normal weather patterns are not holding and that something they have never experienced seems to be building up in the weather cycles... Can we be angry at God or call Him cruel when He intervenes in this way to get our attention? Does God cause or allow these disasters because He hates us?" (Who Controls the Weather?, pp. 3-5) For more insight to the bizarre weather events we are witnessing around the globe, read our booklet Who Controls the Weather?
China Cruise Ship Capsized by Freak Tornado: "Rescuers searched on Tuesday for more than 400 people, many of them elderly Chinese tourists [ages 50-80], missing after a cruise boat was hit by a freak tornado and capsized on the Yangtze River in what may become China's worst shipping disaster in nearly 70 years. Battling bad weather, divers and other rescue workers pulled five people they found trapped in the upturned hull of the four-deck Eastern Star, a small fraction of the 458 people state media said were on board when the ship capsized on Monday night" (Reuters, June 2, 2015). This devastating catastrophe was caused by a freak tornado with very high winds. Yet, unusual and devastating weather events are becoming more of the norm around the globe—from the murderous heat wave in India, to widespread flooding in Texas and East Africa, to the debilitating drought in California, to the destructive earthquakes in Tibet and other places. Jesus prophesied that, at the end of the age, weather-related catastrophes would become more frequent (see Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11, 25; Amos 4:7-12), because nations have failed to live by the laws of God. For more information on this vital topic, watch our telecast, "God Controls the Weather."
The Future of Germany and Israel: "German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Jerusalem Sunday, in a trip that highlighted Germany's dilemma of a great affinity for Israel amid growing unease with Israeli government policy" (Deutsche Welle, June 1, 2015) "Steinmeier received an honorary doctorate from Jerusalem's Hebrew University, where he marveled at the thought of a German foreign minister speaking at an Israeli convocation for newly minted law school graduates. 'We have found each other through the darkness,' Steinmeier said. 'Germans and Israelis have grown together at their hearts.'... In Jerusalem, Steinmeier met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with President Reuven Rivlin, and urged Israel to find a way back to the two-state solution with the Palestinians. The two sides have not met for negotiations since April 2014, and prospects for restarting the peace process have looked more remote since Netanyahu swore in a hawkish, pro-settler government in early May" (ibid.). In spite of their complex history, Germany and Israel will continue to be entwined in the years ahead. This relationship will play into the prophesied future of these two nations and Germany's eventual role as the head of the European beast power, as it eventually controls the Holy Land (Daniel 11:40-43; Luke 21:20-22). For more on the relationship between Germany and Israel, be sure to view "What Is the Beast?"—Scott Winnail, Chris Sookdeo and Francine Prater