Greetings from Charlotte,
Mr. Christo Botha reported that the decision was made by Mr. Nathan to expand advertising of the Bible Study Course beyond the Gauteng province of South Africa to also include KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. This brought a total of 143 responses the first week. So far, a total of 886 English and 564 Afrikaans beginning Bible Study Course lessons were requested in the past three months. That is an average of 531 per month, for which we are very thankful. This week I did not record a video update for the Church, but instead recorded one to go to a much wider audience. I may be doing more of this in the weeks to come. Doing two video updates puts a strain on my time, as well as that of our translators. I’ll be discussing this with Mr. DeSimone later today or tomorrow to see what might be done to have updates designed specially for Church members and another for a broader Tomorrow’s World audience.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Australian Floods
Mr. Rob Tyler, our Regional Director for Australasia, reports that during the last week of February, the eastern portion of Australia, especially the Brisbane area, received over a meter of rain (three feet plus). This has caused widespread flooding that has inundated homes and businesses, caused the evacuation of thousands of people, and left many without power. Please remember our brethren and others who live in these devastated areas.
Tomorrow’s World Presentations in Texas and Missouri
Last weekend, 112 guests attended four Tomorrow’s World Presentations in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas; and in Springfield and Joplin, Missouri. Another 14 guests attended follow-up TWPs last weekend. This weekend, in addition to more follow-up events, new TWPs are scheduled for Schenectady, New York; and Las Vegas, Nevada. Your prayers for all these presentations and the ministers presenting them would be greatly appreciated!—Rod McNair
Passover 2022—Repeat Announcement
Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2022, the Passover Service will be observed on Thursday evening, April 14. Please let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays and/or wine trays or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Service recording and letter instructions (available in English, French, and Spanish). To ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs, we need this information before March 18 for U.S. congregations.
Also, please let us know of any scattered members who are unable to keep the Passover with a congregation and who need the Passover Service recording, also, whether they will need a CD or a DVD recording. Letter instructions for observing it at home will be sent with the recording. U.S. requests should be received before March 18. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Living Education
Virtual Worldwide Chorus III—Repeat Announcement
This spring Holy Day season, we will once again be preparing a very special music selection with choir members from around the world. If you would like to participate, navigate to the Resources tab, then to the Music section of www.lcgeducation.org. Together, we’ll be singing “The Lord’s Prayer” by Albert Hay Malotte. This is a familiar piece to many choir members and should be very appropriate for the Passover season. To allow enough time for editing, the deadline to submit recordings is March 20. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].—Jonathan McNair
Living Education–Charlotte—Repeat Announcement
If you or someone you know is interested in building a foundation for a good life and is between the ages of 18 and 30, LivingEd–Charlotte is the place to be! We are accepting applications for our 2022–23 school year and will begin issuing early acceptance letters shortly. If you would like to know more, just go to www.lcgeducation.org and click on “Charlotte.”—Jonathan McNair
Comments
The Need for Wisdom: Solomon wrote that one of the most important goals in life is to gain wisdom (Proverbs 4:7), and that wisdom is more precious than rubies or gold (Proverbs 8:11; 16:16). The book was written to help others gain wisdom (Proverbs 1:1–6), and the key to gaining wisdom is developing the proper fear of God—having a sincere desire to follow His instructions (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). Wisdom helps us discern between right and wrong and leads to happiness and a longer life (Proverbs 2:10–11; 3:13–16). As Jesus grew up, He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52) and He obviously followed advice in Proverbs (2:1–5). We are instructed to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5) and to study the Scriptures “which are able to make you wise” (2 Timothy 3:14–17). Do a word study of “wise” and “wisdom” to gain a better understanding of this vital subject. As you grow in wisdom, you will develop one of the very attributes of God and Jesus Christ (Job 9:4; Romans 16:27).
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—March 3, 2022
Satanic Extremes of Cartel Training: In Mexico, drug cartels are becoming increasingly brutal. In a game of one-upmanship, when one gang does something horrendous, the next gang has to do something even more horrendous (The Daily Beast, February 13, 2022). This scenario has led to gang members mutilating those they kill from rival gangs.
Mexican cartels have now included cannibalism in their “terror schools” as part of the training of new recruits. Sadly, those recruits do not have the option to leave the schools, and their lives are threatened if they fail to comply with the training. One can only imagine the mental scars caused by engaging in such grotesque behaviors. The cartels’ goal is to intimidate their enemies into submission.
Today’s world remains under the influence of “the god of this age,” identified by the Bible to be Satan the Devil (2 Corinthians 4:4). Jesus calls the Devil a “murderer” (John 8:44), and under his demonic influence, this world is becoming not only more ungodly, but even more “brutal” (2 Timothy 3:1–4). Jesus Christ is going to return as “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42) to eliminate the atrocities we see today and show mankind the way to peace (Isaiah 9:6–7). This is what the true Gospel that Jesus Christ preached is all about. To learn about the exciting and more peaceful future ahead of us, be sure to read or listen to The World Ahead: What Will It Be Like?
Government Undermines Parents: The Scottish National Party recently released guidelines telling teachers, police, and social workers to respect the privacy of children as young as age 13 by not informing parents when their children are having sex (Telegraph, February 20, 2022). The rationale behind the guidelines is the issue of confidentiality. According to the government, “Overriding confidentiality must be justified and proportionate, taking into account the nature and probability of risk to the young person and/or others.” This means, if adults feel a child’s sexual activity is not “overly risky,” then parents should not be informed. However, the age of consent in Scotland is 16, so, in effect, the government is actually encouraging adults to “keep quiet” about behaviors that are clearly against the law.
Calling the new national guidelines “morally bankrupt,” the Scottish Catholic Church told the press, “Believing children are equipped to make moral judgments about how they behave sexually fundamentally undermines child protection.” In Scotland, children under age 16 must have parental consent to apply for a free bus pass, but not to engage in activity that will impact the rest of their lives in a very negative way. According to Scotland’s government, the wishes and feelings of children, who lack the wisdom and experience to make major, life-altering decisions, override the right of their parents to know when their sons and daughters are engaging in high-risk behaviors.
Today, national and local leaders increasingly ignore the wisdom of biblical traditions (Proverbs 22:28), and they continue to erode the rights of parents to make decisions for their own families (v. 6). Many are rightfully concerned that such trends are moving society toward the legalization of sex with children—pedophilia. Watching the decline of Western civilization is sobering and shocking, but it should not be a surprise to students of the Bible. Prophecies reveal that, as the end of the age approaches, society will become increasingly immoral—calling evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). To learn more about the state of society just before Christ returns, be sure to read “Amorality: Will the Carnage Ever Cease?”—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater