Greetings from Charlotte,
This week Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving, yet many who sit down to dinners of turkey and dressing in an increasingly secular America may not realize the role that biblical values played in the lives of pilgrims who came to this country seeking religious freedom. Today, long-standing American religious traditions like prayer and giving thanks to God are threatened by groups promoting "Freedom from Religion." The prophets have much to say about unthankful nations that have "forsaken" God and "forgotten" their Creator (Jeremiah 5:19; Hosea 8:1, 14). Here in Charlotte we will be doing some remodeling and upgrading in the television studio over the next several days. Mr. Meredith has been holding meetings and dealing with administrative matters. Mr. and Mrs. Ames will be in Arizona this weekend, where Mr. Ames and Mr. Rodger Bardo will make Tomorrow's World Presentations in Phoenix and Tucson. It is very encouraging to see that nearly 150 guests have already registered to attend. Registration for next semester Living University classes continues (see announcement below and the LU Web site). Please remember to keep Mrs. Meredith and others in your prayers who are in need of God's mercy, healing and deliverance at this time.—DSW
Church Administration
2013 Charlotte Anniversary Weekend—Registration Deadline!
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 actively be 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. For more information and to see updates as they are available, go to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LcgCharlotteWinterWeekend/events. 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 is less than a month away! The hotel reservation deadline has passed, but the hotel may extend the deadline a few days. In case they don't, we have reserved an additional block of 10 rooms at the $79 rate. Please contact the hotel to reserve your room by calling 1-800-238-9938 and saying that you are with the Living Church of God. The block of rooms is under the name Michael Keesee.
All Friday and Saturday activities will conveniently be at the Holiday Inn. The hotel is offering our group a complimentary continental breakfast (i.e. danish, muffins, coffee, juices).
Activities: We will be finalizing the schedule next week. Check the KC Weekend Web site for updates at lcgkc.org. Once there, click on KC Weekend.
On Friday night, there will be a Bible study at 7:00 p.m. Sabbath morning may include a seminar or Bible study. Sabbath services will be in the afternoon.
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 for paying via PayPal, or please 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. Speaking of talented people, are you someone talented who enjoys serving God's people with your talent? We're looking for acts now! Songs, instrumentals, skits, dance troupes... Please sign up on the KC Weekend Web site in the Fun Show section.
After the dinner and entertainment portion of the evening, we'll have a dance. Or if you choose, head over to the water park. Tickets are $10 per person, which is a significant discount from its normal rates. Tickets can be purchased that evening or throughout your stay at the hotel at that rate.
Sunday will include basketball, volleyball, Lori's extreme exercise clinic, children's activities and fellowship time, once again at the Okun Fieldhouse. Please begin assembling your volleyball or basketball teams now. We're asking teams to be registered by December 22.
We look forward to seeing you soon!—Michael Keesee
Living Youth Programs
Online Teen Bible Study—Friday Evening
The online Teen Bible Study on Friday evening, December 6, will be on "The Plain Truth About Christmas" and will be presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. The apostles and New Testament Christians did not celebrate Christmas. Why didn't they? What is the origin of the many unusual Christmas symbols and customs? How should we answer, and deal with, questions about Christmas as they arise? If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for the online Bible Studies yet, I encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful way to start the Sabbath day.
The chat room is open at 7:30 p.m. (EST) and the Bible Study runs from 8:00-9:00 p.m. 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 can be found on the Living Youth Web site.—Sheldon Monson
Media
Television Department: Russian Satellite Television Update
In 2013, God opened many new doors both on Television and on the Internet for His Church to preach the Gospel. As we understand, God's end-time Philadelphian Church will have "a little strength," will not deny Christ's name, and will go through the "open doors" that God puts before it (Revelation 3:8). For those who have not checked recently, take a moment to visit the Television log on the Tomorrow's World Web site that was recently updated and lists many of our national and international TV stations and networks. Also, check out our Russian Web site at www.zavtrashnimir.org and also check out our newly translated Russian "Healing" booklet at http://russian.tomorrowsworld.org/gh.html. Even if you don't speak Russian, you will be encouraged to see this progress and to know that we have already received thousands of Russian Web site visits and scores of requests for literature from the Russian-speaking world.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Living University
Registration for Second Semester
Registration for second semester classes is now underway. The Spring semester will subsequently begin on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. New and existing students may register for the spring semester (fall in the southern hemisphere) anytime between now and January 14. For those who have never taken a Living University course, you will need to enroll in the University first, and then register for your selected course. The following are brief descriptions of several courses being offered next semester, including two completely new ones. A complete listing of second semester courses can also be viewed on the Living University Web site under the link "2014 Spring Schedule." To make 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 at 704-708-2294.
THL 320: Introduction to Church History. This course traces the history of the Church of God from apostolic times to the present day. The course content builds upon the prophecies in Revelation 2-3 that provide an outline of Church history from the birth of the Church in 31 AD, through seven eras, up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the end of the age. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to analyze significant developments in the history of the Church and understand how those developments fit into the prophetic aspects of the biblical record.
THL 380: Introduction to Biblical Doctrines. This exciting foundational course taught by Mr. Richard F. Ames, presents an overview of many of the basic doctrines taught by the Living Church of God. Through a review of Scripture as well as past and present Church literature, Evangelist Richard Ames gives students a broad and basic understanding of what the Church believes, and why it believes as it does. Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to recognize fundamental biblical doctrines, demonstrate an understanding of those doctrines' implications for Christian belief and conduct, and show basic competence in explaining those doctrines. This course traces the history of the Church of God from apostolic times to the present day. This is a critical course for all believers.
THL 413: Epistles of Paul II (Prerequisite: THL 412). The Apostle Paul said to follow him as he followed Christ and to emulate his example of obedience to God. To do so requires an understanding of apostolic teachings and the will to live by the apostles' doctrine. Our collective task is the examination of the history, traditions, and myths surrounding the early Church to arrive at a fuller understanding of the period and "the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3). This course focuses on the teachings, message, background, purposes, and themes of the Captivity Epistles, Hebrews and the Pastoral Epistles with special emphasis on the understanding of core doctrines. Students encounter leading issues and engage in assigned readings, conceptualization activities, and vocabulary building.
Comments
What Are You Thankful For? Today, we live in a world where many people are obsessed with getting our rights—getting what they feel they are entitled to or what someone else owes them! Yet, the Scriptures emphasize the importance of being thankful for what God provides (Psalm 95:2; 100:4). The Apostle Paul encouraged Christians to develop the attitude of "giving thanks always for all things to God" (Ephesians 5:20) for the gift of salvation (2 Corinthians 9:15), for our role in God's Work (1 Timothy 1:12), and for those whom God calls to His Truth (Romans 1:8). Paul mentions that prayerful requests should be made with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). James states that we should even be grateful for trials that help us grow (James 1:2-4). However, Paul warns that unthankfulness—especially for the opportunity to know the true God and His Truth—is a trait of unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-21). When was the last time you took time to sit down and make a list of what you have to be thankful for—and then expressed thanks directly to your Creator? This Sabbath would be a good time to make that list!
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail