Greetings from Charlotte,
It is hard to believe, but we are winding up our first semester of Living University classes. The final lectures and assignments of the semester will be given in the next week or so. It has been exciting and rewarding for Mr. Meredith, Mr. Ames and me to get back into the teaching mode again. The feedback on the classes has been very encouraging. We are also very appreciative of Dr. Germano for the amount of work he has put into this project, and also to our IT team and others here in Charlotte who have helped make this online university a reality. Registration for Spring semester classes is now underway on the Living University website.
Mr. Ames, Mr. Apartian and I have just returned from a visit to the Home Office of the United Church of God in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was in response to an invitation issued about a year ago when Mr. Clyde Kilough and Mr. Jim Franks visited our office in Charlotte. During the visit in Cincinnati, we were given a tour of their office building, where we saw numerous people whom we have known over the years. At the end of the tour, we presented Mr. Kilough, the President of UCG, with a globe of the world as a gift of friendship. The globe carried an inscription of Isaiah 11:9, "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD." We had several discussions over lunch and dinner about maintaining open communication on issues of common concern.
On Friday, Mr. Rod McNair and I will fly to Austin, Texas, for the Sabbath and to conduct a memorial service for Mr. Keith Walden on Sunday. The memorial service will be held at the Driskill Hotel, 604 Brazos Street, in downtown Austin (phone 512-391-7143). Please plan to arrive by 1:30 p.m. The service will begin at 2:00 p.m. Notes of condolence may be sent to Mrs. Keith Walden and family at:
Renee Walden
c/o Wyatt Ciesielka
15716 Opal Fire Dr.
Austin, TX 78728
Church Administration
Earthquake in Martinique
Last Thursday afternoon, November 29, a powerful 7.3 earthquake shook the islands of the Caribbean basin, from Trinidad to Guadeloupe. The epicenter was located only 15 kilometers from Martinique. Thankfully, there were no casualties, but a few people were injured. Our Martinique elder, Mr. Marcel Ginier, reported, "End-time prophecies are speeding up. Earthquakes are becoming more frequent in our region. There have been 38 aftershocks since the earthquake of November 29, the strongest occurring yesterday with a magnitude of 4.6 degrees. Mr. Meredith's advice, given during the ministerial conference, becomes vivid when we go through this type of event. Being close to God helps us remain in control of our reactions. Join your prayers to ours for God's protection of His children."
New Zealand Update
Mr. Kinnear Penman reports: The repeat programmes on Prime are still bringing good results. Recently, we had better results from a repeat than from that programme's initial outing. Responses averaged 112 each week during November, and an average of 68 of these (60.7 percent) were from first-time callers. We pray that God will continue to keep this door open for us. During November, we posted 2,151 pieces of mail, which enclosed a total of 2,976 items of literature. Of these, 57 were sets of the Bible Study Course lessons. Carolyn has started mailing Dr Meredith's semi-annual letter, and about one quarter of the job was completed during the month. In the past, we have received responses to the semi-annual letter of up to about 30 percent of the mailing list, which now stands at 5,494 for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
God is steadily calling new people to His Church here, in New Zealand. I invited a family and a married man to start attending with us…. One person is being counseled for baptism. On the first Sabbath of November, I presented class 10 of the Living Leadership Course, which covers health issues. I was assisted in this by a member who is a recently-graduated nurse. She prepared and presented instruction on stress avoidance and infection control and did a fine job.
Fifteenth Anniversary Weekend
Hotel Reservations: When making reservations at the hotels/motels listed on the MyLCG section of the www.cogl.org website, please remember to identify yourself as part of the Living Church of God. While we have no financial incentive in requesting this, the hotels/motels have a room block for us, and we need to let them know who is with our group.
Online Registration (Repeat Announcement): If you are planning to participate in the 15th Anniversary celebration in Charlotte, please take a moment to complete the on-line registration. This registration replaces the hand count that was taken earlier to gauge attendance. You may register on MyLCG area of the www.cogl.org website. An accurate count of how many people will be participating in each of the weekend's activities is essential as we plan for this special occasion. If you do not have Web access, please obtain assistance from someone in your congregation who can do it for you. Payment can be made online at the "donations" button on the MyLCG site. Important: In the "donation designation" box write "anniversary events."
You will not receive a donation receipt for these payments since they are for goods and services. Payment can also be made by conventional check made out to Living Church of God and mailed to 2301 Crown Centre Drive, Charlotte, NC 28227. Remember to write on the check "anniversary events."
Marriage Seminar: The number of seats available for the marriage seminar has been increased. If you attempted to register for the event and got a message that it was "full," you may now go back and register.—Davy Crockett
Northeast Young Adults Ski Weekend
Great news! Vermont has 10 inches of new snow and more is on the way! We still have a few spots open for registrants to the Northeast Young Adults Ski Weekend. Take advantage of this opportunity to build bonds of friendship with other young adults, learn more about God's way of life, and simply have a great time! The location is Ludlow, Vermont, located minutes away from Okemo Mountain, one of the top ski areas in the Northeast. If you love to ski, this is the place to be. If you just enjoy being around other young adults, then you are welcome as well! Arrival is on Friday afternoon/evening, December 21. Departure is on Wednesday, December 26. The cost for accommodations, on-site meals and lift-tickets is $300. If you don't plan to ski, the cost is $250. Register now—space is limited. To register, go to www.formdesk.com/mcnair/form1. For questions and more information, contact Jonathan McNair at [email protected].
Human Resources
Employment Opportunity. Please review and announce the following job description and opening:
Data Entry Clerk II in the Information Technology Department. Candidate is familiar with data entry and general office procedures. Duties include entering a variety of standard and/or complex coded or uncoded business and statistical source data into the computer. Job requires a high school diploma with two to five years of experience in the field or in a related area.
Anyone interested in this position in the Information Technology Department should send a resume to: Living Church of God, Human Resources Department, attention: Suzanne Pyle, PO Box 3810, Charlotte, NC 28227. Fax: 704-844-1973; e-mail: [email protected].
Finance Department
As we begin December 2007, the income of the Work is slightly below budget. Nevertheless, we hope to end the calendar year with a surplus, as we plan for 2008.
For those who do year-end financial planning, any contributions received postmarked prior to and including December 31, 2007, will be included in your contribution receipt for 2007. Contributions made online by December 31 will be included in your annual receipt for contributions to the Church.—Davy Crockett
Media
Mr. Wayne Pyle reports: This weekend, we re-aired program #274, "Who Is the Beast of Revelation?" for the third time, and it looks like the third airing is going to outstrip the first 4,000-plus airing! From Thursday through Sunday, we received 3,282 phone calls. We expect the final response, including phone calls, letters and e-mail replies to near 4,100 responses. The second airing in September 2006 only brought in 3,514 replies. So, for the third airing not only to way surpass the second airing, but also to out-do the first airing, is exceptional.
During the Thanksgiving holiday, we aired new program #315, "The TRUTH About Divine Healing," which offered the booklet Does God Heal Today? This booklet had been offered two times before in telecasts during 2006, drawing 3,049 replies in March 2006, then 2,516 responses in September 2006. But the new program #315 generated 3,510 responses, setting a new record for the Healing booklet.
Comments
Importance of Faith: The Scriptures state that "without faith it is impossible to please" God (Hebrews 11:6), and that we must "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith is not something we just wish for, nor an emotion we work up. Faith is based upon substance and evidence (Hebrews 11:1). You can gather that substance and evidence by studying the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) and proving what the will of God is (Romans 12:2). When we clearly understand God's instructions on a subject, then we must trust God (Proverbs 3:5) and begin to act on those instructions. Noah "walked by faith" when he began building an ark—yet he did not see the deluge for about 100 years (Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 5:32-6:11). Abraham "walked by faith" when he was instructed to leave the land of his birth for another country (Hebrews 11:8; Genesis 12:1-5). This is what James meant when he wrote, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17, 20, 24). When we understand and prove what God's will is we, too, must put our trust in God's instructions and begin to act in faith on those instructions. This is an important way to please God.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—December 6, 2007
The Pope's Visionary Strategy. "Popes don't think in terms of years, they think in terms of decades and centuries," the saying goes. As we see world events unfold, it is highly instructive to watch and listen to the Pope. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI commented on how Christianity does not have its roots in Europe, but in the Middle Eastern world of the Old Testament—a clear reference to the regions of Iran, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Jerusalem. The Pope went on to clarify his comment: "According to general opinion," said the Pontiff, "Christianity is a European religion that has exported the culture of this Continent to other countries. The reality, though, is a lot more complex, as the root of the Christian religion is found in the Old Testament, and therefore in Jerusalem and the Semitic world." In recent weeks, the Pope has highlighted the work of Syrian saints of years past (Zenit.org, November 28, 2007). While the Pope works to re-educate Europeans about their Catholic roots, he is also working hard to draw in Arab nations as well as the Jews. All these efforts may lead to the development of a prophesied treaty that will bring three-and-a-half years of peace to the region of Jerusalem—a time in which temple mount sacrifices will be reestablished (Daniel 9:27).
Who Is Governing the UK? Recent European Union rules and a future adoption of the current EU Treaty promise to remove even more local autonomy from Britain and other nations. Currently, Britain can do very little to restrict right of residence to anyone coming into Britain from the other 26 member states. Once a person becomes a legal resident of Romania, for example, they cannot be prevented from living in Britain and drawing benefits from the British government. Britain also has lost the ability to refuse asylum to those it disagrees with (The Sunday Telegraph, November 4, 2007). In addition, since 1997, 52 percent of new jobs in Britain have gone to immigrants (The Times, October 31, 2007). It appears that immigration is, or will shortly be, controlled entirely by Brussels. Recent events call to mind part of the following prophecy: "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower… he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail" (Deuteronomy 28:43-44). Britain is no longer the head. In fact, it appears that Britain is the tail and is being wagged by EU officials in Brussels.
Dwindling Oil Supplies Will Lead to War. If you want to make people fighting mad, take away their food, their water, their livelihood and their dreams of a better future. For hundreds of millions around the world, this is exactly what is happening right now. Earth is starting to run out of accessible oil, just as its population is burgeoning. More than a billion people in developing countries are just starting to catch up with the industrialized Western nations' standard of living, which is fueled by petroleum products. For well over 100 years, cheap and abundant oil has powered our transportation, heated homes, run electric generators and fueled our nations' armies. Yet this planet's oil fields are now beginning to run dry. Mexico's great Cantarell oil field is in serious decline and Saudi Arabia's giant Ghawar field has seen the end of its peak production, according to the December 2007 issue of Global Changes & Opportunity Report. America has little oil left underground, and Europe's famed North Sea reserves are nearly pumped dry, even while China, India and other developing nations are consuming more and more petroleum each day. Though plenty of oil is left, it is in difficult and expensive-to-reach places—and the time to develop these resources may be insufficient to avert the coming global economic disaster. Scripture warns that because of men's lust, wars over dwindling resources, including oil, are assured (James 4:1-2).—Don Davis, Dan Bennett, Scott Winnail