Greetings from Charlotte,
The news today seems to be filled with reports about "wars and rumors of wars" from the Middle East to the South China Sea—as Jesus Christ predicted almost 2,000 years ago (Matthew 24:1-6). However, the Bible also contains the good news of the coming Kingdom of God that will bring an end to the strife and suffering that dominates the news today. This week, Dr. Meredith has been writing and holding meetings, and will visit family members in Florida this weekend. Mr. Ames, Mr. King and Mr. Wallace Smith taped new Tomorrow's World programs this week. It has been a little noisy this week as we do some remodeling in the Executive Office area to make room for growth. It certainly has been exciting and inspiring to see the doors that God is opening with television and the Internet. We are still working with arrangements for incorporating additional personnel i nto our operations. We are also trying to finalize Feast site plans for 2014, and we hope to add a small Gulf Coast site to reduce the driving time for those who live in that part of the country. We are scheduled to have a phone meeting for the Council of Elders next Wednesday, so we would appreciate your prayers for that meeting and for all of God's people as they face challenges in their lives.—DSW
Church Administration
Europe and Africa Update
2013 was another good year for God's Church in the European and African regions. Mr. Christo Botha reports that the expanded television coverage across South Africa is producing 70 percent more responses compared to our last airings, though most of them are still coming in from Cape Town. We have had a 10 percent increase in membership and an 11 percent increase in co-workers and donors. The income has also increased, by 14 percent.
In Europe we are experiencing steady growth, with the groups in Paris and Strasbourg receiving a boost. Mr. Lecocq held some special Bible Studies in Lyon in January, February, and March. Mr. Adrian Käfer continues to promote the Church in Germany, with some German language booklets being produced in Canada for him to mail out.
Mr. Ellis visited Ethiopia and oversaw the Living Youth Camp in South Africa in December. He then travelled on to Madagascar to meet with a small group wanting to associate with us, and also visited our brethren in Burundi.
In the UK, Mr. West completed his first full year as London pastor. He has combined the two London congegations, which has allowed him to begin a Spokesman Club for the men. Most of the growth this year has taken place in the Midlands and the North of England, with Mr. Roberts visiting and baptizing several people. We began airing the telecast in late January on another SKY channel. We also placed posters in two Liverpool stations for a month (see article below) and the same thing may be done elsewhere if this test shows that it is an effective means of reaching people.—Rod King
New Advertising Project
When using the London Underground on a recent visit to England, Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka spotted another potential opportunity to reach people in the UK with God's Truth—by advertising at major tube stations. Mr. Rod King enthusiastically convened a meeting to plan how this could be done and two preliminary stages were set in motion. The first was to "brainstorm" ideas for eye-catching captions to appear on the advertisement posters and the second was to assess the facilities and costs in city rail stations. The posters were on wall panels beside the station escalators, so the messages needed to be "catchy" and have immediate impact! Merseyrail was chosen for the first trial run, at the two Liverpool Centre stations—Lime Street and Central Station. The posters have beautiful designs, completed by Mr. Jason Talbott at Charlott e, featuring the Tomorrow's World Web address and a digital code mark—QR—for rapid Smartphone link up. Half of the designs advertised the free TW magazine and the others our SKY TV programme. We pray that God, who uses many methods to witness to His Truth, will bless this project in Merseyside and beyond.—James Bennett
Ethiopian Bible Studies
For the fifth time in 12 months, a minister visited interested Tomorrow's World subscribers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Rees Ellis conducted two Bible Studies in December, "Biblical Laws for Success" and "Our Mission." There was a total attendance of 14 at each, including Mr. and Mrs. Ellis and myself. Many of the guests have attended TWPs or Bible Studies previously, so there was a nice camaraderie amongst them, resulting in an excited and loving atmosphere. One guest had travelled more than 270 km to be there. Attendees on both days were given a special treat—being able to receive a short, interactive message from Mr. King via Skype. They were all very excited to learn of his impending visit to them later in January.—Jamie Meakin
Report from Zambia
The following report is from Mr. Pieter Van der Byl, who recently completed a ministerial visit to Zambia:
"After arriving last Friday, February 21, and meeting with some members for an evening meal, I held a Bible Study on the Sabbath, where there were 12 of us present, and had the opportunity to answer a number of questions, and also do some counseling. One man travelled 600 km to attend, and another family of four travelled 450 km. It was encouraging to see their motivation. Early Sunday morning I flew up to Ndola airport, where I was met by a very enthusiastic new contact, whom I had not met before. We travelled by taxi to the town of Kitwe, which is in the centre of an area known as the Copperbelt. This gentleman had previously been a church pastor in the area, but resigned from that position when he became convinced of the truth. In the meantime, he has been sharing LCG literature with a number of people he knows, many of whom had said they wanted to learn more, and w ould like to see a minister.
"Upon knowledge of my visiting, he arranged a conference facility and invited a number of these interested contacts to attend a meeting on Sunday afternoon, of which 25 (not counting children) were able to come. Some others were not able to make it. I spoke on the subject of God's coming Kingdom, and then answered many questions over a length of time. All were very warm and appreciative, and several kept saying they wanted to learn more and asked when I would be coming back again. I provided copies of our 'Statement of Fundamental Beliefs,' as well as literature request forms, and encouraged them to follow up on the Church's teachings of the truth in the meantime.
"On Monday I left early again to fly up to a town called Kasama, which is not far from the border of Tanzania, and where we have four baptized members and three young adult family members. I held two consecutive Bible Studies on Monday and Tuesday, and had time to answer many questions again and counsel with our members. All in all, it was a very encouraging trip, especially in seeing God's hand in effecting His work!"
Passover 2014—Repeat Announcement
Important Notice to All Pastors: This year the Passover Service will be observed on Sunday evening, April 13. 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. To ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs, we should have this information by March 17 for U.S. congregations. Information for international congregations should already be here.
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. For U.S. members, we need the information by March 17. International requests should have been received by now. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Carolina Singles Weekend—Repeat Announcement
Need a break from the regular routine? Perhaps you could use a social and spiritually uplifting recharge? How does spending an exciting four-day weekend with a vibrant group of people of like mind sound? We invite you to join the Charlotte, North Carolina singles group for a Memorial Day weekend to remember. Spend time with old friends and family. Make new ones. At the Carolina Singles Weekend, you can expect Bible studies on timely, relevant topics. Also—food, dancing, sports, team challenges and a cozy outdoor fire await those who join us this year. Mark your calendar for May 23-26. Don't miss this opportunity to assemble together as a family in this unique way and location (Hebrews 10:25). We look forward to spending time with you!
Upcoming details will soon be posted to the local Charlotte LCG Web site: charlottelcg.org (not an official Church Web site) under "Carolina Singles Weekend."
If you have any questions, please contact Jonathan Bueno: [email protected] or 361-331-1099.
General Ministerial Conference Reminder
We will soon be sending out invitation letters and travel forms to those coming to the General Ministerial Conference, which is to be held here in Charlotte beginning on Monday, May 5 and lasting through Wednesday, May 7. Arrival for most of you will be on Sunday, May 4 with departure on Thursday, May 8.
Internet Department
Feast of Tabernacles Registration
The Feast of Tabernacles 2014 Web site is now available! We appreciate all the hard work of ministers and members around the world who have put so much effort into preparations for the annual fall Festivals, and we hope you will find this beautiful Web site informative and helpful as you make your plans to observe the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day at one of these sites where God has placed His name. Please watch Mr. Ames' inspiring introductory message on the FOT Web site home page, and use the interactive map or the drop-down listing to learn more about the various Feast sites. Just go to LCG.org and look for the "Feast of Tabernacles" link on the left side menu.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Feast of Tabernacles
2014 Festival Web Site "Live"
Brethren are now able to access Feast site information on the 2014 Festival Web site. Please note: Festival Registration is not open—we will be announcing the registration date in the next few weeks. If you do not have Internet access, please contact your Festival Advisor to print off information for any site(s) you are interested in attending. If you do not know who your Festival Advisor is, please check with your local Pastor.
To access the Festival Web Site, go to: https://fot2014.lcg.org. (You can also access it by going to the Living Church of God Web site (www.lcg.org) and clicking on "Feast of Tabernacles.")
Pastors: Please make sure that Headquarters has been updated with any changes in your local congregation rosters. For example, please let us know of any Church Youths (CY) who have turned 18 and now should be listed as Prospective Members (PM). Please also let us know of any other changes in status of any brethren in your area (i.e. baptisms, etc.) or if any brethren have moved to another congregation. Send these status updates to [email protected]. Please also fill out your Festival Advisor survey if you haven't done so already.
All brethren: Please make sure your MyLCG account is working. This will be necessary for you to register online. To test it, go to www.cogl.org and sign in to MyLCG with your username and password. If you don't have one, you will have the option of creating one. If you have any problems logging into MyLCG, please e-mail [email protected].—Festival Office
Ministerial Site Preference Survey
Attention all ministers: We have sent you an e-mail requesting that you let us know what Feast of Tabernacles site you would like to attend this year. If you have not yet responded to it, please do so as soon as possible. If you did not receive the message, please check your "junk" or "spam" e-mail folder, as it might have gone there. If you don't find it there, please let us know at [email protected], and we will send you another copy of the message.
2014 Feast of Tabernacles Israel Tour
We still have a few spots open for the Israel Feast tour this year. If you are interested in participating in this very special Feast in the Holy Land, please register on the MyLCG page of the Church Web site. This is the last year we will be offering this opportunity to keep the Feast in Israel in the foreseeable future, so unless you go this year, you might have to wait until Christ returns to stand on the Mount of Olives. The trip this year has a revised itinerary from last year, and includes Masada and the Dead Sea on the main tour. The full tour description is posted on the MyLCG page, so check it out for details and pricing.—Jim Meredith
Living Youth Programs
Online Teen Bible Study—Friday Evening
The online Teen Bible Study Friday evening, March 14, will be on "The Mystery Religion of Babylon," presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. In vision, the Apostle John saw a woman "arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations... And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABLON THE GREAT...." Just what is the Mystery Religion of Babylon? And who is this woman? Join us next Friday evening to discover the answers to these questions and more! If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for one of the online Bible Studies yet, I encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful way to start the Sabbath day.
The Bible Study runs from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (EST) 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 Mark of the Beast," can also be found on the Living Youth Web site.—Sheldon Monson
Finance Department
Preparations for the spring Holy Days are well underway, including the upcoming mailing of green Holy Day envelopes. These pre-coded envelopes save the staff hours of processing time when they are used for Holy Day offerings. If you have not received these envelopes in the past, please e-mail [email protected] and we will update your status for the upcoming mailing.—D. Jerry Ruddlesden
Living University
AC General Catalogs—Repeat Announcement
Thanks to the generous gifts of many brethren, the Living University library continues to grow and become a powerful tool, not only for student research, but also in support of God's Work through our publications and telecasts. As we work to fill in the gaps in our library collection, it has come to our attention that we are missing several years of the Ambassador College General Catalog. The missing years include: 50-51, 52-53, 54-55, 56-57, 58-59, 71-72, 75-76, 77-78, 79-80, 81-82, 83-84, 85-86. If you have an AC General Catalog for any of the missing years and would like to donate it to the Living University library, we would be very appreciative. To do so, please send them to the following address:
Attn: Scott Winnail
Living University
Suite A
2301 Crown Centre Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28227
USA
Comments
Gentleness is Godliness: We understand from the Scriptures that Christians are called to become kings and priests—civil and religious leaders—in the coming Kingdom of God. In this world, leaders often feel that in order to be a leader, they must exert control over others to show who is in charge. Jesus said this human tendency to "lord it over" others will not be tolerated in the Kingdom (Matthew 20:25-28). God is looking for individuals who want to serve others and who are able to serve and lead in a gentle—but not weak—manner. David records how God dealt gently with him (Psalm 18:35). Solomon states that patience and gentle words can persuade difficult people (Proverbs 25:15). While the Apostle Paul exercised church discipline, he also dealt gently with people (1 Thessalonians 2:6-7). Paul also urged Christi ans to be humble, gentle and patient when dealing with others (Ephesians 4:1-2). Bible prophecies indicate that while Jesus Christ will return and rule with a "strong hand," He will gather His flock as a shepherd and "gently lead those who are with young" (Isaiah 40:10-11). Anyone who hopes to lead in the Kingdom needs to remember that gentleness is a trait of Godly leaders.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—March 6, 2014
German Chancellor Awarded Israeli Medal: German Chancellor Merkel recently traveled to Israel with most of her cabinet ministers for their fifth "joint cabinet meeting" since 2008 (Deutsche Welle, February 25, 2014). "The two countries signed a series of new agreements… The first was Israel's acceptance of Germany's offer to provide consular services to Israeli travelers in countries where the Jewish state does not have a diplomatic presence. She [Mrs. Merkel] called this a 'sign of the trust' that existed between Germany and Israel" (ibid.). The Chancellor also spoke out against those desiring to boycott Israel over its settlement activities. Finally, President Shimon Perez presented Mrs . Merkel with Israel's highest civilian honor—the Presidential Medal of Distinction (ibid.). German officials are also supportive of the "Two-State Solution" where Israel and Palestine exist side-by-side in peace (ibid.). Although Germany does not agree with all of Israel's actions, the relationship between the two nations is deepening, while Israeli-U.S. relations continue to cool. Bible prophecies have long foretold that an end-time German-led European power called a "beast" and the "king of the North" will invade the Middle East and take control of Jerusalem (Revelation 17:11-13; Daniel 11:41-42; Luke 21:20-24). Ultimately its leader will come to a temple in Jerusalem and "exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods" (Daniel 11:29-45). This Beast will probably establish a presence in the Holy Land prior to the fulfillment of these prophecies. For more on this topic, view our telecast "Who Will Invade the Middle East?"
Economic Coercion in Uganda: Anti-homosexuality laws in Uganda are drawing a backlash from world leaders and organizations (NGO's). Uganda's conservative leadership recently passed legislation that punishes overt homosexuality and pro-homosexual propaganda (BBC, February 28, 2014). U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the action "atrocious," and, "Both he and South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu compared the new laws to anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa" (ibid.). In addition, the World Bank has delayed funding to improve the health and wellbeing of Ugandan mothers and infants. The irony of the World Bank's coercive action is that while the Bank condemns nations that attempt to blackmail their people, it refuse s to fund a project to save and improve the lives of Ugandan babies because it disagrees with a law that could negatively affect a small minority of the population, and because the law offends World Bank staff members (ibid.). As modern nations move further away from God and His laws—that call homosexuality a sin (Leviticus 18:22)—we see prophecies being fulfilled that predicted end-time leaders would cause their people to err by calling good evil, and evil good (Isaiah 3:12; 5:20). The laws of God were designed to prevent this "sick" situation (Isaiah 1:5) and benefit those with the courage to live by those laws. To learn more about God's world-changing laws, read our free booklet The Ten Commandments.
Weather Catastrophes and Depression: In 2012, the World Wildlife Federation and the Robert Wood Johnson foundation released a report that studied the effects of powerful weather events on mental health. According to the report "When you have an environmental insult, the burden of mental health disease is far greater than the physical" (Live Science, February 3, 2014). The report also predicts "a steep rise in mental and social disorders resulting from climate change-related events in the coming years, including depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicide and widespread outbreaks of violence… the scientific data show that what lies ahead will be bigger, more frequent, and more extreme tha n we have ever known… prompting potentially dire mental-health impacts" (ibid.). Jesus Christ warned that at the end of the age, there will be great earthquakes (Matthew 24:7), the seas and waves will roar (Luke 21:25), and "sorrow of heart" or depression will be widespread (Leviticus 26:16). As severe weather events increase, we may also see more depression related to these catastrophes. For a prophetic perspective on weather-related events, read our booklet "Who Controls the Weather?"—Scott Winnail, Justin Ridgeway, Ron Ramsingh, and John Wheeler