Greetings from Charlotte,
The year 2015 is off to a chilling and sobering start with the shootings by Muslim extremists in Paris this week that left over a dozen dead. This attack followed major demonstrations in several German cities against the growing presence of Islam in Europe. The shootings in Paris could further inflame this smoldering issue—eventually leading to the confrontation described in Daniel's prophecies about the end of the age (Daniel 11:40-43). Here in Charlotte, we have been saddened by the death of Mr. Bob League, who died this morning (Thursday, January 8, 2015) about 8:30 a.m. Mr. League was admitted to the hospital on Sunday with breathing difficulties, and his major organs began shutting down in the last several days. He was 82 years old and served in the ministry for 47 years. Dr. Meredith and Mr. Dan Hall will be conducting the funeral here in Charlotte on Sunday afternoon. This week, Dr. Meredith has been working on a Tomorrow's World article and holding meetings. Mr. Gary Ehman reports that the Personal Correspondence Department received a record number of inquiries in 2014. Dr. Wil Pierre will be making a Tomorrow's World Presentation in Haiti this weekend.—DSW
Church Administration
Passover 2015
Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2015, the Passover Service will be observed on Thursday evening, April 2. Please let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays and/or wine trays or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Service recording and letter instructions (available in English, French and Spanish). To ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs, we need this information before February 5 for international congregations, and by March 12 for U.S. congregations.
Also, let us know of any scattered members who are unable to keep the Passover with a congregation and who need to receive the Passover Service recording and letter instructions for observing it at home. International requests should be received before February 5 and U.S. requests before March 12. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible.
2015 Southwest Regional "Fun in the Sun" Regional Weekend—February 14-15
Winter got you down? Escape the cold and wander on over to the desert for a "Fun in the Sun" weekend in Phoenix, Arizona!
The Phoenix congregation will host the 2015 SW Regional Weekend over Presidents Day weekend, February 14-15. Evangelist Richard Ames will be guest speaker. Events will include a formal Black and White Ball (Sabbath attire or better) on Saturday evening, with Brunch and Learn seminars on Sunday. We will be hosting a Variety Show on Sunday afternoon, followed by a Wine Reception to meet the performers and wrap up a very memorable weekend! The weekend is sure to be fun for the whole family!
The local congregation will provide housing and transportation on a first come, first served basis, so please RSVP early by contacting James Populo at [email protected] or 480-263-2881.
For the Variety Show, we are seeking formal "recital" performances such as instrumental solos and vocals, along with a variety of acts, such as comedic skits, fun acts and everything in between! If you would like to volunteer, please e-mail Adam and Myriah Pujat at [email protected].
Watch for our Facebook page to be posted.—Rodger Bardo
Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend in Greenville, SC—April 3-5
The Anderson, South Carolina congregation is pleased to announce that we will be hosting our eighth Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend from Friday to Sunday, April 3 to 5.
Planned events include: the Night To Be Much Observed on Friday night, Holy Day services on the First Day of Unleavened Bread, a banquet and ball Saturday night, and a picnic and recreational activities on Sunday. Further details about the event and registration instructions will be announced in early February. For further information, contact me at 864-638-7719 or by e-mail at [email protected].—Manuel Burdette
Young Adults Retreat
The Young Adults Program got off to a good start last week as a group of young men and women enjoyed four days together in the North Carolina mountains. Each day started off with breakfast and Bible studies proving the validity, design and structure of the Bible. The rest of the day was spent on some fun and interesting activities like visiting America's largest home—the Biltmore mansion. Some of the group were able to ski and snowboard a couple of the days at Sugar Mountain Resort. The evenings began with dinner, followed by round table discussions on topics relevant to the challenges the younger adults in the Church are facing in this world, and how they can better prepare to be leaders in the future. Many of the group commented that they really enjoyed this kind of interaction and being involved in the topics that were discussed. Some games and lots of fellowship completed the evenings.
Plans for future activities like this are underway to bring more of the young adults in the Church together to learn more of God's way of life, how to prepare to be the leaders in the future, as well as having a lot of fun and fellowship. We look forward to having even more attend the next activity, so watch for future announcements of Young Adults activities.—Jim Meredith
Kansas City Weekend a Big Success!
More than 360 brethren gathered last weekend for fellowship and fun during the Kansas City Family Weekend. Highlights included fine messages from guest speakers Dr. Douglas Winnail, Mr. Wallace Smith, Dr. Richard Franz, Mr. Adam West and Mr. Phil West. Many donned their finest formalwear for Saturday evening, when a delicious dinner was served by the locally famous Hereford House. That was followed by The First Annual Ambassador Awards Show, which included a variety of awards, including a Lifetime Achievement award given to Mrs. Phyllis Wells for decades of service in the Church. Several Broadway hits were performed as well. Thirty art exhibits were displayed for all to view. It was wonderful to see all the talent the brethren have.
On Sunday, more than 150 people braved the sub-freezing temperatures and icy roads to enjoy the variety of "Big Family Games" activities. Later in the day, many played basketball and volleyball, while some learned volleyball skills during our clinic. Children enjoyed various games, a basketball clinic and, at the end of the day, a book-reading activity.
God blessed the weekend in many ways, including holding off a winter storm and providing milder temperatures, but also in giving a feeling of warmth and unity that encompassed the entire activity.—Mike Keesee
Feast of Tabernacles
International Feast Sites for 2015
Two more sites have been added to the list of international Feast of Tabernacles sites for 2015: Punta Leona, Costa Rica and San Martin de los Andes, Argentina. More sites will be announced as they are finalized.
Internet Department
French Facebook Page
We are pleased to announce that this past week, our French-language Facebook page—Facebook.com/LeMondeDeDemain passed 100,000 likes! We thank God for letting us reach this milestone, but we know that there remain millions more French-speaking Facebook users still to reach. Passing 100,000 fans is a big accomplishment, and is the result of a lot of prayer, combined with some paid advertising, and also a lot of planning and hard work. We also want to thank very much our small French Department colleagues for all of their help on a day-to-day basis. Currently, posts from our French Facebook page reach more than 199,000 people per week, with about 5,500 of those people per week being "engaged"—or talking about the content we post. Our "fans" range from France to Congo, from Madagascar to Haiti. For example, some "far away" places where this page has fans are: Togo (5,581 fans), Vanuatu (190), Rwanda (1,454), and Haiti (6,685). We pray that God will continue to bless the reach and impact of all of our Facebook pages, as well as our other media efforts to witness to the whole world, and to call those whom He will.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Tomorrow's World News Webcasts—Repeat Announcement
Where can you find brief Bible video commentary on trending news and prophecy? If you haven't watched our Tomorrow's World News Webcasts yet, be sure to check them out. So far, we have addressed topics ranging from the growing influence of Social Media on our youth to the pagan origins of Christmas, from speculation about the origins of life on earth to extremist attacks in Australia and the Middle East, and from the homosexual agenda to commentary on major new Hollywood action movies. While Dr. Meredith, Mr. Ames and our other telecast presenters continue to reach millions of people over satellite, cable TV and of course through the Internet, we are able to produce these brief five or six minute "Webcasts" much more rapidly, and they are filling another niche as the Church continues to strive to fulfill the Great Commission (Mark 16:15). You can find the Webcasts at TomorrowsWorld.org/webcasts or at our YouTube channel (now 4.1 million views and growing!). We are also now loading the Webcasts to our Roku, Apple TV and Google TV channels.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Living Youth Program
Online Teen Bible Study Friday Evening
The online Teen Bible Study on Friday evening, January 16, will be on, "God's Great Purpose for Marriage and Family," presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for one of the online Bible Studies yet, we encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful way to start the Sabbath day.
The Bible Study runs from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. (EDT) and the chat room will be open for a half hour before and after the study. You can access this Bible Study at livingyouth.org. We hope as many of our youth as possible will join us for this wonderful opportunity for godly fellowship and learning. For those of you who are unable to make it to the study, archives of previous Living Youth Bible Studies, including last evening's on, "The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Part 7," can also be found on the Living Youth Web site.
Living University
Second Semester classes begin this Wednesday, January 14, so those interested in taking a class need to register as soon as possible and order textbooks, if they have not already done so. Those who have never taken a Living University course will need to enroll in the University first, and then register for the selected course(s). We are offering several new courses this semester, along with our solid biblical core courses. A complete listing of second semester courses can be viewed on the Living University Web site under the link "Spring 2015 Schedule." To make an application to Living University, to register for courses, and to find out more, please visit the www.livinguniv.com Web site. For additional information, please contact Mrs. Michelle Broussard at [email protected] or 704-708-2294. Note that those age 65 and above may audit one class per semester without a tuition charge. Also, LU has a special program for high school/secondary school students who wish to take an LU class during their high school years—some do this to meet curricular needs for a "religion" class. High school students can enroll in the Dual Enrollment Program and take specific theology classes at a significantly reduced tuition rate. For more information about this program, visit the Living University Web site.
Comments
The Hope of Christians: Many today assume that this life is all there is—when you die, your body decays and all is forgotten. However, this misinformed idea ignores a remarkable truth—the message of the gospel—the hope of eternal life. Jesus plainly taught "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The Apostle Paul referred to this "hope of eternal life" as a "blessed hope" of glory that believers will receive at the return of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:2; Titus 1:2; 2:13). The hope and reward of believing Christians is to be among the "firstfruits" of God's plan as "sons and daughters" of God and "joint heirs with Christ" at the resurrection (Romans 8:14-25; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 2 Corinthians 6:18). The Apostle Peter referred to this hope to share God's divine nature and to reign with Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God as "exceedingly great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:2-4). Brethren, while many in the world today are without any real hope beyond this life (1 Thessalonians 4:13), we need to stay focused on the glorious hope that Jesus Christ has given to those He has called and never let it slip away (Hebrews 2:1-3).
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—January 8, 2015
Push from the South: On Wednesday, two gunmen entered the offices of France's most popular satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and killed twelve people including two police officers. President Hollande called this a "terrorist attack, there is no doubt about it" (The Guardian, January 7, 2015). "Many feared for the long-term implications for a French society already witness to a steady rise in xenophobic and anti-Islam sentiment, and a political landscape increasingly polarized with the far-right Front National having steadily made large electoral gains" (ibid.). As of Thursday morning, Paris was in lockdown as a city-wide manhunt was underway to find the suspects (Reuters, January 8, 2015). Also on Thursday morning a police woman was killed and a street sweeper was shot by a different attacker who is still at large (News.com.au, January 8, 2015). In Germany this week, "18,000 people demonstrated in Dresden… against the supposed Islamization of Europe" (Deutsche Welle, January 8, 2015). Many worry the situation in France could feed anti-Islamic feelings across Europe (ibid.). These events appear to be playing into Bible prophecies about an end-time Islamic "king of the south" that will "push" against or attack a European "king of the north," bringing retaliation from the European power (Daniel 11:40-43). The growing anti-Islamic sentiment across Europe could add to the political and economic pressures threatening to reform and reorient the current European Union. For more on this topic, be sure to read our very informative booklet, The Middle East in Prophecy.
America-Russia Tensions Escalate: "A widening rift between Moscow and Washington over cruise missiles and increasingly daring patrols by nuclear-capable Russian submarines threatens to end an era of arms control and bring back a dangerous rivalry between the world's two dominant nuclear arsenals. Tensions have been taken to a new level by US threats of retaliatory action for Russian development of a new cruise missile" (The Guardian, January 4, 2015). The U.S. actually deployed an experimental balloon over Washington last week—a device designed to detect incoming cruise missiles (ibid.). "The rise in tension comes at a time when the arms control efforts of the post-cold-war era are losing momentum. The number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by the US and Russia actually increased last year, and both countries are spending many billions of dollars a year modernising their arsenals" (ibid.). The rising tensions between the nuclear powers of America and Russia certainly fit into signs that Jesus prophesied would mark the approaching "end of the age… wars and rumors of wars" (Matthew 24:3-6). While Bible prophecies do not mention an all-out war between America and Russia, increasing tensions and warfare between large and small nations are something to watch for and expect. For more insight into the role that specific nations will play in end-time events, be sure to read our commentary on "The Bear's Growl."
Israel and Palestinian Authority Antagonism Continues: "Israel on Saturday froze NIS 500 million ($127 million) in Palestinian tax revenues collected on Ramallah's behalf, in response to the Palestinian Authority [PA] filing a request to join the International Criminal Court earlier this week"—a move intended to allow the PA to prosecute Israel for war crimes (Times of Israel, January 3, 2015). This followed a UN Security Council no-vote on a Palestinian resolution for statehood (Reuters, December 31, 2014). PA President Abbas has threatened to return to the Security Council repeatedly until it recognizes Palestine (Reuters, January 5, 2015). The EU recently chided Israel and the PA over recent actions and encouraged them to return to the two state solution (Associated Press, January 6, 2015). Tensions and tempers continue to flare between Israel and the Palestinian authority, illustrating the need for a "strong hand from somewhere" to intervene and create some type of temporary peace—something the two groups appear to be incapable of bringing about on their own. Bible prophecy reveals that a future European Beast power, led by Germany, will be that "strong hand" as the king of the north (Daniel 11:40-43). Students of Bible prophecy understand the need to "watch" the Middle East and Europe for signs that will indicate the return of Jesus Christ is near. For more about end-time events, be sure to read our informative article, "Who Will Invade the Middle East?"—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater