From the Presiding Evangelist
Dear fellow ministers and laborers for Christ,
Thank you very much for the outpouring of love, loyalty and encouragement that you have given during my wife's recent illness and death. We are getting calls, emails and sympathy cards from all over the world. Literally scores have come to us over the last few weeks. So thank you all who sent these and for your prayers and your encouragement.
I know that you know that with the overwhelming response and the workload that I personally need to carry—including preparation for the Tomorrow's World Presentation which I need to make this coming Sunday—I will not have the time or energy to thank every one of you personally. But I do want you to know that I appreciate it, and thank God for the underlying swell of love and loyalty which I have seen even more recently. It is amazing to me, sometimes, that some of our enemies try to pretend that we have a "power struggle" going on here at Headquarters. Yet, the fact is—as many of you know personally—that some of the best friends I have on earth include Mr. Richard Ames, Dr. Douglas Winnail, Mr. Dexter Wakefield, Mr. Rod McNair, Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka and other fine servants of God around the world. We constantly help and encourage one another, forgive one another when necessary and have been working together in love in an unusual way that I have not experienced in God's Work since the early 1950s.
So we can thank God that this attitude is dispersed throughout the world among God's people. I do thank God for that and for the love and support of all of you. I know that this is pleasing to God and that He will bless the Work powerfully—as He is even now indicating. A number of developments are coming to a head which clearly indicate that we are being propelled toward a much larger impact on the world within the next several months! So let us move forward together—in spite of personal sorrow—and prepare for the Kingdom of God with all our hearts, infused with power and faith and courage by the spirit of Almighty God. Thank you again for your love and personal loyalty and friendship and personal encouragement toward me.
With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith
Church Administration
Greetings from Charlotte,
This has been an eventful week here in Charlotte. Mr. Richard Ames conducted the funeral service for Mrs. Sheryl Meredith on Wednesday, where he delivered to more than 200 guests a very encouraging message on the hope of the resurrection. It was good to reconnect with many individuals who traveled to Charlotte for the funeral. In addition to friends, many members of Dr. Meredith's family have been able to visit with him during this time. Last weekend, 111 visitors attended the Tomorrow's World Presentations conducted by Mr. Ames and Mr. Rodger Bardo in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Both members and visitors found the presentations themed around "The Gathering Storm" to be very inspiring! This weekend, my wife and I will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a Regional Conference that will be held on Sunday. Living University enrollment for classes next semester continues (please consult the LU Web site for details).—DSW
Tomorrow's World Presentations in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona
This past weekend, an inspiring Tomorrow's World Presentation was given on two consecutive days, in Phoenix (on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.) and in Tucson (Sunday at noon). Total attendance for the two days was 270 (111 visitors and 169 members). Mr. Ames' bold presentation on "The Gathering Storm" drew many nodding heads of agreement, especially from our visitors that, yes, we are indeed in the end times. This presentation was followed by, "Safety in the Gathering Storm," given by Rodger Bardo, Area Pastor of Arizona and New Mexico. There were many in-depth conversations after the presentations. Some asked, "You have a Church? Where does it meet?" Comments of "awesome," "fantastic," and "keep it coming" were heard, as people discussed God's Truth. One man said he felt very blessed to be able to hire a taxi so he could attend. Others drove as long as three hours one way to attend. Many in Phoenix stayed until 9:30 p.m., when the hall closed. It was a wonderful weekend, plus a tremendous uplift to the membership. Members stated they "felt like committing all over again." Another wrote, "What an awesome weekend! Loved every moment of it! During the presentations (which were powerful and held nothing back—wow), it was absolutely thrilling to see that many were deeply impacted by what they heard." Thanks to all for a very successful TWP!—Rodger Bardo
2013 Charlotte Anniversary Weekend—Registration Deadline!—Repeat Announcement
This year is shaping up to be another outstanding weekend of activities with hundreds of brethren from all over the country coming to celebrate with us. If you would like to get in on the fun, fellowship and food—both spiritual and physical—please let us know by registering now for the events you would like to participate in. The deadline to register is December 9! For detailed information of the events and to register, go to your MyLCG page on the www.cogl.org Web site. If you do not have computer access, your Festival Advisor may register you. At the request of many, we have added a new seminar this year for mature singles. This seminar will be for older singles in the Church who are not necessarily looking for a mate, and will focus more on how they can be actively engaged in the Church and serve others. If you have already registered online and would like to attend this seminar, you may go back and add it to your registration. There are still rooms available at the host hotel, the Renaissance Charlotte Suites Hotel. The $92 rate includes a full buffet breakfast for two adults. You may use the hotel's Passkey Web site at https://resweb.passkey.com/go/LivingChurchOfGod2013 to reserve your room or call 704-357-1414 and mention the Living Church of God to book your reservation. For those of you planning to play in the basketball or volleyball tournaments, please get your teams together now. We need all teams to register online by December 9. Please note that all teams must have a minimum of seven players and we are limiting the basketball tournament to a maximum of eight teams. We will also have free play courts available for anyone not on a team. See our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LcgCharlotteWinterWeekend/events for more information and to see updates as they are available. We hope many of you can join us for a weekend of spiritual rejuvenation, fun, food, and fellowship!—Jim Meredith
2013 Kansas City Family Weekend
The Kansas City Family Weekend now has a theme: "Tropical Getaway." Since we're meeting at the Holiday Inn and Coco Key Resort complete with a water park, the weekend will be a virtual "Tropical Getaway" (despite, of course, the fact that it's winter and in the Midwest). Wear your best tropical shirt or dress to the dinner and dance (but please leave the swimwear for the waterpark). If you haven't already done so, please register and sign up for activities at: lcgkc.org (not an official Church Web site). Once there, click on "KC Weekend."
The hotel reservation deadline has passed, but we have reserved an additional block of 5 rooms at the $79 rate. Please contact the hotel to reserve your room by calling 1-800-238-9938 and saying you are with the Living Church of God group and would like to use the block of rooms reserved by Michael Keesee. Or you can contact our housing director, Beryl Wilson, at 816-537-8133.
All Friday and Saturday activities will, conveniently, be at the Holiday Inn.
On Friday night, there will be a Bible Study at 7:00 p.m. Sabbath morning may include a seminar or Bible Study at 10:30 a.m. Sabbath services will be at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday evening will include an Italian feast of cavatappi noodles in meat sauce, salad, breadsticks and a bread pudding with caramel sauce. The meal is being catered by the Holiday Inn for $10 per person ($11/person if you use PayPal). We do ask that all who sign up for the catered meal send in their payment by December 13. See the KC weekend Web site to pay using PayPal, or else send a check made out to the Local Church Activity Fund and mail it to: John Wells, 2329 Lake Breeze Ln., Lee's Summit, MO 64086.
After dinner, we'll put on some fine entertainment by a host of our talented people. If you would like to add your talents to the show, we're getting close to a last call for acts. Play your best reggae song, bang on the steel pan drum or luau the night away (fire dancing may be discouraged by the hotel)... If your talents lie somewhere outside of the theme, don't worry, be happy and sign up anyway. Fun show registration is on the KC Weekend Web site in the "Fun Show" section.
After the dinner and entertainment portion of the evening, we'll have a Tropical dance. Or if you choose, spend time at the CoCo Key water park. Tickets will be $10 per person and can be purchased for that price that evening or throughout your stay at the hotel.
Sunday will include basketball, volleyball, Lori's extreme exercise clinic, children's activities and fellowship time, once again at the Okun Fieldhouse. There are only four teams registered for both basketball and volleyball, so please sign up soon! The deadline for team sign-up is Sunday, December 22.
We look forward to seeing you soon!—Michael Keesee
Living Youth Programs
No Online Teen Bible Study on Friday Evening, December 13
There will not be an online Teen Bible Study on Friday evening, December 13. Mr. Monson expects to be in South Africa for the Youth Camp there. The next online Teen Bible Study is scheduled for Friday evening, January 3. Archives of previous Living Youth Bible Studies, including last evening's on "The Plain Truth About Christmas," can be found on the Living Youth Web site at livingyouth.org.—Sheldon Monson
Internet Operations
Online Tomorrow's World Presentation—December 8 at 3:30pm
Please remember to register for our next online, live Tomorrow's World Internet presentation—broadcast around the world! Register at http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/online-twp and join us on Sunday, December 8 at 3:30 p.m. (Eastern USA time) as thousands of LCG members and Tomorrow's World subscribers "tune in" to this important live presentation. And, please join us in prayer that God will bless the presentation and help it bear good fruit. —Wyatt Ciesielka
Comments
The Value of Hope: Having a hope in the future—something positive to look forward to—is a vital aspect of life. Many have long understood that life without hope is empty. The Bible states, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12). But what is the real hope in life for a Christian? King David wrote, "You are my hope, O Lord GOD" and "I hope in Your word" (Psalm 71:5; 119:147). The Apostle Paul said under cross-examination before a Roman governor, "I have hope in God" and "believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets," including the promise of a resurrection and eternal life that he would receive at the return of Jesus Christ (Acts 24:14-15; Titus 1:2; 2:13). We are urged as Christians "to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18) and to purify ourselves so we can become "children of God" (1 John 3:1-3) and to "be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). We need to be motivated by this same hope today!
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—December 5, 2013
End of Christianity in Britain? "Christianity is just a 'generation away from extinction' in Britain unless churches make a dramatic breakthrough in attracting young people back to the faith, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has warned" (Telegraph, November 18, 2013). "So many people do not see the average church as a place where great things happen… It is still the case that people are essentially looking for spiritual fulfilment" (ibid.). The former Archbishop noted, "So many churches have no ministry to young people and that means they have no interest in the future… We have to give cogent reasons to young people why the Christian faith is relevant to them" (ibid.). This is remarkable, when we read that the early Apostles figuratively "turned the world upside down" with their powerful message of the true Gospel (Acts 17:6). Their "good news" of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God—that Jesus Christ would return to this earth and set up a world-ruling government in which the saints would reign as kings and priests (Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 7:27; Revelation 5:10)—was an exciting message that propelled the growth of the early Church and gave people a sense of hope and purpose for their lives. However that true Gospel has been watered down and lost over the centuries. To discover how the true Gospel has been lost, distorted and rejected, read our informative booklet, Do You Believe the True Gospel?
U.S.A. Alienates Friends: As a result of the "deal" brokered by the U.S. with Iran to curtail Iran's nuclear program (Associated Press, November 24, 2013), Israel and Saudi Arabia have been working behind the scenes to create a fallback plan should the "deal" fail, including the use of Saudi airspace for a potential attack on Iran. The Saudis stand ready to "assist an Israeli attack by cooperating on the use of drones, rescue helicopters and tanker planes" (Jerusalem Post, November 17, 2013). Both Israel and the Saudis are frustrated with the U.S.'s apparent rejection of their concerns (ibid.). In an extraordinary comment, President Netanyahu observed that there was a historic "meeting of the minds" between Israel and leading states in the Arab world—"one of the few cases in memory, if not the first case in modern times" (ibid.). Ultimately, Israel and Saudi Arabia need U.S. protection in the region, and if they cannot get it, they might look elsewhere (Stratfor, November 26, 2013). Bible prophecy speaks of a short-lived period of peace involving Israel and its Arab neighbors just before the end of the age (Daniel 9:27; 11:27-30; Psalm 83:5-8; Ezekiel 23:22-23)—a peace that will even lead to the Israelis sacrificing on the Temple Mount (Daniel 11:31; Matthew 24:15). Cooperation between Israel and leading Arab nations has been an elusive goal. Cooperation against a perceived common threat could bring these nations together for a brief period of time. For more powerful information on this topic, be sure to review our insightful booklet The Middle East in Prophecy.
More "Rumors of Wars" Last week, tensions erupted in the East China Sea when China declared an air defense perimeter around a group of islands currently controlled by Japan but claimed by China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan (BBC, November 28, 2013). China also announced that its air force was prepared "to deal with all air threats" from unidentified aircraft (ibid.). The air defense zone amounts to a claim to all the territory and resources within the contested perimeter. Subsequently, Chinese fighter jets monitored planes from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. that flew through the airspace, but there were no incidents. U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden is now in Asia attempting to calm growing tensions (Associated Press, December 3, 2013). As China flexes its growing military muscles and nations in the region square off against each other over "disputed" territory, we are reminded again of the "rumors of wars" that Jesus said would circulate as the end of the age approaches (Matthew 24:6). For more information on signs of the end of the age, be sure to read our free booklet, Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return.—Scott Winnail, John Meakin, Jonathan Bueno and Ron Ramsingh