Greetings from Charlotte,
We had an enjoyable Young Adult Weekend in Delavan, Wisconsin, last week, with 33 in attendance. It was marked by profitable group sessions, warm fellowship, and a bit of recreation. The weekend format was similar to our previous “Living 4 Tomorrow” (L4T) program, and we plan to revive that program once again. We have Tomorrow’s World Presentations scheduled for this weekend in Spokane, Washington; Jacksonville, Florida; Tacoma, Washington; and Ocala, Florida. Follow-up presentations are scheduled for next weekend, as well as a first-time presentation in El Paso, Texas. Brethren, we understand that there is a very contagious COVID variant going around, but we will continue to do the Work while there is time. Last year, we had 523 guests attend TWPs in person with another 199 connecting online, and we have a very aggressive schedule planned for 2022.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
January 22 Church-Wide Fast Sabbath Services Livestream
The entire Sabbath Service (including hymns, prayers, announcements, sermonette, and sermon) on the Church-wide fast on the Sabbath of January 22 will be livestreamed from Charlotte. It will begin at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (USA). Pastors: please make arrangements for your congregations to view the streamed service from Charlotte if at all possible. For congregations where the time difference makes this impractical, or for those needing Spanish or French translation, the recorded and translated services will be available at a later time.
Appreciation for 25 Years of Service
Last year around this time, we recognized ministers in the Living Church of God who have been serving God’s people for decades. This week, we would like to honor those ministers and their wives who in 2021 reached their 25th year since ordination. Please join us in acknowledging these individuals for their dedication and sacrifice in serving God and His people.
Ordained 25 years in 2021:
- Mr. Gaylyn Bonjour (U.S.A.)
- Mr. Mario Hernandez (U.S.A.)
- Mr. Rod McNair (U.S.A.)
- Mr. Gene Hilgenberg (U.S.A.)
- Mr. William Oswald (U.S.A.)
- Mr. Roger Herbert (South Africa)
- Mr. Elizaphan Rayola (Kenya)
Family Weekend Reports
What a difference one week makes in winter! God blessed the weather so that 238 brethren could travel to Kansas City under sunny and mild conditions for the weekend of December 25–26. The following week brought snow and ice! In the Sabbath sermon, Mr. Mike DeSimone emphasized the importance of God’s Work. Mr. Mark Sandor expounded Proverbs, explaining how to answer questions depending on the questioner’s attitude. After a catered buffet dinner that evening, young and old exercised their memories in a “Kahoots” online trivia game involving Bible, Church, and general questions. On Sunday, families enjoyed a biblically themed carnival made possible by members from Kansas City and outlying congregations. When children were asked which was their favorite booth, they all gave different answers! The planning and work involved in hosting the Family Weekend contributed to an uplifting and encouraging weekend for all who attended.—Rand Millich
In spite of logistical challenges with hall availability, God miraculously opened the door to hold the Atlanta Winter Family Weekend at the newly renovated DoubleTree by Hilton. This facility had previously served as a Festival site for 2020. Plans quickly came together through the diligent efforts of our local leadership. On the Sabbath morning, Mr. Ames gave an insightful Bible Study on the Epistle of James. One new member commented that it had been many years since he and his family had heard such an in-depth Bible Study. In the afternoon, Mr. Ames set the tone and purpose for the weekend with his sermon titled “Develop Godly Relationships.” That evening, we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner with smoked brisket, pulled chicken, and all the fixings. After dinner, Braselton congregation member Ms. Elizabeth Moore entertained the brethren with humorous stories from her childhood. The evening concluded with the “Behind the Work” video from the 2021 Feast of Tabernacles. On Sunday, at 9 a.m., the brethren gathered for more fellowship, fun, and a variety of table games, including chess. A delightful lunch concluded the special weekend.—Dan Hall
Living Education
Our “Sing a New Song” project of collecting hymn contributions from our members is still moving forward step by step. We received approximately 150 contributions initially. Obviously, we cannot include every one of these songs in the hymnal, so the songs in this collection have been reviewed carefully and pared down to about a third of that number. This smaller collection is in the process of being carefully reviewed once more to select the songs to be included in a new hymnal. There are a number of factors that go into this step of the process. How many could we include? What songs will be most “sing-able” for our congregations? What mix of time signatures should we have? Some songs are joyous while others are more somber—what mix of “mood” should be included? Developing a collection of hymns that will fulfill these parameters is a time-consuming process, not to mention the work that is being put into arranging a full piano accompaniment as well. Your prayers for God’s blessing on this endeavor would be greatly appreciated—and thank you to those who have been inspired to contribute and participate in our efforts!—Jonathan McNair
Television Department
Some 2021 Statistics
YouTube
- Gained approximately 27,000 subscribers to the English Tomorrow’s World YouTube channel and over 35,000 to the Spanish channel.
- We had approximately 3.2 million views on the English TW channel and approximately 7.1 million on the Spanish channel.
Social Media
- Overall, more than 91,000 followers and subscribers were added to all our social media platforms in all the languages we serve.
- This brings the total to over 1.16 million followers/subscribers for all our social media accounts in all languages.
Telecast
- We had over 207,000 literature requests attributed to the telecast in 2021.
Tomorrow’s World Magazine Subscriptions
- The magazine subscription list grew by 116,000 in 2021 (January 2021: 424,000 to January 2022: 540,000)
Bible Study Course Starts (Print version)
- This year over 139,000 people requested the first lesson of the print Bible Study Course in English. This is about 45 percent more than in 2020. When the online course is included, there were well over 150,000 requests.
Comments
Redeeming the Time: The Apostle Paul urged brethren in Ephesus to consider God’s will, live with a purpose, and make the most of every opportunity to become more like Jesus Christ—“because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Ephesus was a bustling port city, home of the great pagan temple of Diana, and filled with temptations for Christians. Jesus also warned believers against being sidetracked from spiritual goals by the “cares of this world”—the pursuit of money, material things, and fame (Matthew 13:22). As Christians living in the latter days, we have a commission to warn the world of a coming judgment, to preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God (Matthew 24), and to prepare for future roles in that Kingdom (Revelation 5:10; Isaiah 30:20–21). Let’s put our hearts into this mission and come out of this world—and take advantage of the opportunity we have been given to grow to become more like Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—January 6, 2022
EU Neighbors Fear Germany’s Future: Tensions between Poland and the EU have been high for months. But Poland’s deputy prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, may have raised tensions even higher when he “accused Germany’s new government of wanting to turn the European Union into a federal ‘German Fourth Reich’” (Deutsche Welle, December 24, 2021). Kaczynski shared his fears that Germany is using the EU Court of Justice as a tool to promote federalist ideas and strip away sovereign rights of independent EU nations. Such rhetoric is sobering.
During an earlier visit to Warsaw by Germany’s new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki described his concern about Germany’s support for a strong federal EU, calling such support “utopian and therefore dangerous.” However, a federal European state is the stated goal of the agreement forged by the three parties that form Germany’s current ruling coalition.
Are the leaders in Poland overreacting because Germany and the EU are displeased with internal governmental decisions being made in Poland? Or do the Poles have a legitimate concern? Bible prophecy indicates that, at the end of the age, a German-led “beast” power will control global commerce for a time, and even invade and control the Holy Land. This beast power will include ten leaders or kings who give their power over to this beast (see Revelation 17). While Poland’s concerns may seem reactionary, the Bible reveals their fears may be warranted. To learn more about the future of Germany and Europe, read an article we published over a decade ago, “Resurgent Germany: A Fourth Reich?”
Science Is Without Excuse! For more than a hundred years, scientists have been looking for alternatives to the biblical account of the universe being created by an all-knowing, all-powerful God. This idea is threatening for secular scientists and others because it suggests that the Bible, with all its moral imperatives, would also be valid—and many do not want to be told that there is only one right way to live!
In an article in Scientific American, theoretical physicist Avi Loeb suggests that we should consider the possibility that “our universe was created in the laboratory of an advanced technological civilization” (October 15, 2021). Claiming that a sufficiently advanced civilization, using quantum tunneling, could create a “baby universe,” Loeb states that, if this theory is true, “our universe was not selected for us to exist in it—as suggested by conventional anthropic reasoning—but rather, it was selected such that it would give rise to civilizations which are much more advanced than we are.”
An interesting irony of this idea is that it clearly allows for God to be the “advanced civilization” that created the baby universe—and the theory still fails to explain away God! By claiming the origin of our universe may lie in a highly advanced civilization in another universe, it raises the obvious question: Where did that universe come from?
In their haste to dispatch God, it is sobering to see the speculative reasoning that permeates the arguments of secular scholars. As the Apostle Paul explained, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:20–22). The more science discovers, the more scientists are without excuse for not seeing the obvious. To learn more about how creation proves the existence of God, read our booklet The Real God: Proofs and Promises.—Scott Winnail, Brent Mitchell, Francine Prater, and Chris Sookdeo