Greetings from Charlotte,
The year 2013 could bring prophetically significant changes in the world. A new pope will be selected who could impact more than just the Roman Church. Germany will vote on a new Chancellor to lead the most dynamic nation in Europe. The Middle East threatens to explode while political and territorial disputes involving China, Japan, the Philippines and the Koreas continue to increase—as world events shed light on end-time Bible prophecies. Here in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith has been writing and holding meetings. Messrs. Ames, King, Weston, Ciesielka and Ownby have returned from a very informative visit to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Last week's Tomorrow's World television program by Mr. Wallace Smith, entitled "World War in the Middle East," has drawn nearly 4,500 responses so far. Mr. Ames' program the previous week, entitled "The Prophesied Day of the Lord," drew 8,032 total responses. This was the second time we have received more than 8,000 responses to a program. Mr. Dexter Wakefield is currently visiting Regional Offices in Costa Rica and Colombia to coordinate business procedures. I will be in Sweetwater, Tennessee for a combined service and to conduct a Regional Conference. Your prayers for these activities and for God's people are much appreciated.—DSW
Church Administration
Passover 2013—U.S. Congregations (Repeat Announcement)
All Pastors: please let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays, wine trays, or wine glasses) or a copy of the Passover Service recording. 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. (U.S. pastors will automatically receive one copy of the Passover Service recording.)
You can direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected]. The Passover Service will be observed on Sunday evening, March 24.
Spanish Update
Thank you for your prayers for the Schaubeck family in Costa Rica. As reported in last week's The World Ahead, Mrs. Schaubeck and her son Johann suffered a violent robbery in their home on February 24, while Mr. Schaubeck was away in El Salvador on a ministerial visit. The Schaubecks have now moved to another home, where the Church's regional office will also resume its operations. Please continue to remember Mrs. Schaubeck and Johann in your prayers for a complete recovery.
Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend
The Anderson, South Carolina, congregation invites you to join us for our sixth Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend scheduled for Friday, March 29, through Monday, April 1. The weekend promises to be filled with inspiring spiritual messages, uplifting fellowship, and fun activities. Come celebrate the conclusion to the Days of Unleavened Bread with us in Greenville, South Carolina. Please take time to complete your registration this week. The registration deadline is March 15.
Planned events include: a Friday afternoon bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail; a Friday evening opening dinner and Bible Study; brunch and services on the Sabbath; the "Carolina on My Mind" Banquet and Ball on Saturday night; a picnic and recreational activities, including a 5K road race and softball games, on Sunday; and Holy Day services on Monday, the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Services and the Banquet and Ball will be held at the Hyatt Regency Greenville in downtown Greenville. A children's activity will be held prior to Sabbath services.
Additionally, we invite those with musical talent to perform special music for the Sabbath or Holy Day services or to perform appropriate danceable music for the Ball. Please contact us with your proposed performance selection.
We have secured a room rate of $80 per night for guests staying at the Hyatt. Further details about the event, prices of meals, and registration instructions are located at our local website: http://lcganderson.org/ (not an official Church Web site). Or, you may contact Manuel Burdette for further information at 864-638-7719 or by e-mail at [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you in Greenville for the best Spring Weekend ever!
North Florida Spring Holy Day Family Weekend (Repeat Announcement)
The congregations of North Florida invite you to our Spring Holy Day Family Weekend, Friday, March 29 to Monday, April 1. The event will take place at the beautiful lakefront Cerveny Conference Center in Live Oak, Florida. This is an especially peaceful setting with beautiful views and no distractions from God's holy time.
This weekend will be an all-inclusive retreat with a focus on fellowshipping together. All meals, services, and activities will be hosted on-site, providing an excellent opportunity for spiritual growth with brethren. Events include: Friday night Bible Study; Sabbath Services on Saturday and a Family Fun Show Saturday night; Treasure Hunt and Bible Study on Sunday; and Holy Day services on Monday. Four congregations will be combining for services on the Sabbath and Holy Day.
Hotel rooms on-site are $60/night. And we have food costs down to $20/person for the entire weekend (includes six full meals and snacks).
Please visit www.LCGnorthflorida.com (not an official Church Web site) for more information and to register by March 15.
Living Youth Programs
Online Teen Bible Study—Friday Evening
This Friday evening, March 8, at 8:00 p.m. EST (USA), the Bible Study will be on the Passover and will be presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. 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 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 www.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 also be found on the Living Youth Web site.—Josh Penman
Texas Pre-Teen Camp, Dallas—Register now for the best week of summer!
Registration is now open to summer fun at LYC Texas Pre-Teen Camp, June 16–21 at Camp Whispering Cedars in Dallas—six days of recreation, fellowship, sports and adventure for pre-teens and their families.
Campers ages 7–12 will participate in full days of challenging activities while making friendships that will last a lifetime. Mini campers ages 6 and under will take part in many of the activities their older siblings do, but with more unstructured time for games, crafts, and play. Older siblings, campers ages 13 and 14, will be a part of our camper/staff training program and have an opportunity to learn and practice skills needed to be an effective camp staff member while also partaking in many of the activities provided for the campers. Parents are always needed to fill our staff positions, and more importantly, to create the family atmosphere that has always been a big part of LYC Texas Pre-Teen Camp. We encourage all who are interested in attending to register by filling out the applications online at http://lyc.lcg.org/. If you are unable to apply online, you may receive a paper copy of the application by calling Jenny Penman at 704-844-1960, ext. 2283. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact our Camp Director, Mr. Phil Sena, by phone at 512-535-6771, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Feast of Tabernacles 2013
2013 Registration (Repeat Announcement)
Festival Registration for 2013 will begin Sunday, April 7, at 12:00 noon (EDT): Please do not make housing reservations until you have been given confirmation of your acceptance to your requested Feast site. If you are registering for your assigned site, you will in most cases be given the "go-ahead" to make housing reservations right after completing registration. If you are transferring to another site, approval may take a little while longer. Thank you for your cooperation and your patience.
For those without Internet access, please contact your Festival Advisor for assistance. All information about this year's Feast sites will be posted on the Church's Festival Web site by March 15—stay tuned for more details.—Festival Office
In preparation for registration on April 7, we would like to ask the following:
All pastors: Please make sure that Headquarters has been updated with any changes in your local church 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].
All brethren: Please make sure your MyLCG account is working. This will be necessary for you to register on April 7. 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 (www.cogl.org), please write to [email protected].
Mail Processing Department
Attention Video Recipients: The shipments of Holy Day sermons were sent out last week. Please check the DVDs/CDs when you receive them, to be sure that they play properly. If there are any problems, we will have time to send replacement copies.—Gaylyn Bonjour
Human Resources
Employment Opportunity: Information Technology Manager (Repeat Announcement)
The Headquarters Office is looking for an experienced IT professional to manage its IT Department. The successful candidate will be a member of the Living Church of God, will have a strong background in network administration, database management and computer hardware, and will be expected to relocate to Charlotte (the Church will pay for reasonable moving expense). Competencies with Microsoft Exchange Server, SQLServer and a MCSE certification (or better) are very desirable. Supervisory and/or management experience and programming ability are a plus. Please send your resume to Suzanne Pyle via e-mail at [email protected], or by fax to 704-844-1973, at the Human Resources Department. We request that only those applicants who are able to legally work in the United States apply for this position.—Dexter Wakefield
Comments
The Value of Counsel: One of the common pitfalls of life is trusting in our own judgment when we only see part of a picture. When we make decisions or take actions based on how we see a problem, the results can be costly to ourselves and to others. This is why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5, "lean not on your own understanding" and in Proverbs 3:7, "Do not be wise in your own eyes" and again in Proverbs 28:26, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool." Solomon also warned in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." To help us avoid making serious mistakes in life, God inspired Solomon to write in Proverbs 11:14, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety" and again in Proverbs 15:22, "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established." We can obtain wise and valuable advice by prayerfully studying the book of Proverbs and by seeking counsel from parents, the ministry and from more experienced friends and associates who can be objective and help us see a bigger picture than we perceive on our own.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—March 7, 2013
Nuclear Threats and Bible Prophecy: The United States and China have drafted strong sanctions against North Korea as a reaction to a recent nuclear test by the North Koreans (CBS News, March 7, 2013). In retaliation, North Korea has threatened a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" against the U.S. Although China is North Korea's strongest ally in the region, the U.S. is blamed for the resolution. Experts doubt that North Korea has the technology to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear device, but do not rule out a U.S. base in South Korea. North Korea has also threatened to end the cease-fire agreement in place with South Korea since 1953 (ibid.), and South Korea has also threatened to retaliate should North Korea take provocative actions (China Daily, March 7, 2013). While North Korea's nuclear threats may not materialize, they tie into long-standing Bible prophecies. Jesus Christ predicted that just before the end of the age, reports of "wars and rumors of wars" would dominate the news—during a time He described as "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:6, 8). Those who "watch" world events as Christ commanded (verses 42-44) will be ready and not surprised as the "day of Christ" approaches, while others who fail to understand Bible prophecy will be caught off guard! To learn more about the "signs" that will announce Christ's return, review our informative booklet, Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return.
Death of a National Icon: Now What? Hugo Chávez died of cancer this week in a military hospital in Venezuela (International Herald Tribune, March 5, 2013). After 14 years of "revolution" and fomenting opposition against the U.S., the charismatic national figure leaves behind a nation in turmoil and a mourning family. Venezuela has been in political crisis as its leader suffered with cancer. Now, many supporters are saying "'With Chávez everything, without Chávez nothing" (ibid.). "In regimes that are so person-based, the moment that the person on which everything hangs is removed, the entire foundation becomes very weak because there was nothing else supporting this other than this figure" (ibid.). Leaders like Sr. Chávez rely on themselves and distrust most others, thus they fail to implement a key to successful leadership—training a successor and preparing the government to continue after they die. Because of the political turmoil fostered by Sr. Chávez and the opposition he incensed, there is confusion over how power should be handed down (ibid.). While national division, unrest and insecurity will probably continue among the Venezuelan people, there is real hope for the future. Bible prophecies reveal that Jesus Christ is going to return to set up the government of God on this earth (Revelation 11:15-18). The focus of that government will be the righteous laws of God, and we are told that "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). For more about the exciting truth of God's government, view our exciting Tomorrow's World telecast, "The Blessings of Righteous Government."
Killing Sea Beds for Prawns: Once a British delicacy, prawns are now cheap and commonplace. Although this high demand is good for Thai farmers, techniques for obtaining "prawn food" to feed the growing mollusks are ravaging the environment (Sunday Times, February 24, 2013). Collecting "trash fish" involves using fine nets to capture everything on the ocean floor, including "…crabs, stingrays, turtles, shark species and young fish. The entire haul is then ground up and incinerated in a series of hot ovens until it turns into a powder that is fed to prawns kept in giant farms. The indiscriminate technique means many fish are prevented from growing to full size and the sea life in whole sections of ocean is destroyed" (ibid.). Long ago, God directed mankind to be wise stewards and "tend and keep" the earth (Genesis 2:15). God also instructed human beings not to eat, but to preserve mollusks and shellfish, for human health reasons and to preserve ocean ecosystems (Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14). Mankind's greed for gain and his poor stewardship of the earth is leading to the destruction of ecosystems, the termination of species, and the increasing pollution in the oceans. Simply adhering to the "clean and unclean" dietary laws and being good stewards of the environment would have a dramatic impact in protecting God's creation and improving human health. Both of these approaches will be implemented in the soon-coming Kingdom of God (Acts 3:19-21). For more information on why God prohibited eating shellfish and mollusks, see our article, Do You Really Want To Eat That?—Scott Winnail, James Bennett and Susan Bennett