Greetings from Charlotte,
Infrastructures in many Central and South American countries have deteriorated to the point where we are unable to send magazines and literature to our members and subscribers. To solve the problem, the Spanish Department embarked on a digital alternative, and on Monday, Mr. Cristian Orrego presented to us an update on the project. El Mundo de Mañana magazine, Viewpoints, Whiteboards, and Living Education classes will soon be available in Spanish on a new website and app. Growth in the Work continues strong, with the Tomorrow’s World magazine going to more than 578,000 subscribers. Demand for booklets, Bible Study Courses, and other materials are also remaining strong, but we may need to pull back a bit as income is not keeping pace so far in 2022. We suspect the end of government stimulus checks of the last two years, along with high inflation, is much of the reason. However, as we all know, God owns everything and can provide for our needs, so let us draw close to Him as we approach the Passover and Unleavened Bread, now only a week away.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
First Tomorrow’s World Presentation in Canada since 2019
We are excited to report that last weekend, Mr. Stuart Wachowicz conducted a Tomorrow’s World Presentation in Vancouver, Canada, attended by 53 guests—the first Canadian TWP in over two years! A follow-up presentation will be conducted this weekend by Mr. Barry Walker. In the United States last weekend, 40 guests attended TWP follow-ups in Lafayette and New Orleans, Louisiana; Lufkin, Texas; Arcadia, California; and El Dorado, Arkansas. Thank you for your prayers for the TWPs!
L4T Begins Again
L4T means “Living for Tomorrow,” and that’s exactly the type of young adults we are looking for at our upcoming L4T weekend at Blowing Rock, North Carolina, over the Memorial Day weekend. Arrival will be on Friday, May 27, followed by two days of intensive focus on being successful young men and women, both today and into the future. How should a young man or woman define success? How is it possible to avoid the pitfalls, traps, and dead ends that prey upon our young adults? These are the type of challenges we’ll confront—and it’s crucial that we do. According to many of the polls that focus on young adults and religion, there is a dramatic decline in interest in attending church after reaching the age of 19–20. Why is that? Are our young adults who understand the Truth of God and His way vulnerable to the same pulls that affect Protestant young adults? What are those pulls? For young adults from 18–30, clear your calendar for May 27–30 so you can be part of this kick-off weekend for our new L4T program. More details next week!
Baby-sitting for Passover—Repeat Announcement
It is best if baptized members who need baby-sitters for Passover organize their own baby-sitting privately. If the Church is involved in organizing baby-sitting, it involves the Church taking “care, custody, and control” of the minors, and that involves very specific guidelines that must be adhered to. We have sent a memo to all ministers providing a more detailed account of those guidelines.
Living Education
Living Education—Scholarships Available
Living Education continues to accept applications from young men and women ages 18 to 30. One question that often comes up is “How much does Living Education–Charlotte cost?” The Church subsidizes a major part of the cost of the program, which helps to keep the program cost for our students down to a very reasonable $300 per month for the nine-month program. The work-study program generally allows students to cover their remaining living costs. This year, however, due to some generous donations, we’re able to offer incoming students the opportunity to apply for additional scholarship funds as they complete their application. The application deadline for qualifying for those funds is May 1.—Jonathan McNair
Living Youth Program
Living Youth Adventure Program
As we announced recently, we are expanding our Living Youth Adventure Program to include a backpacking trip in the Ouachita National Forest in northern Arkansas and also a backpacking trip in the Pisgah National Forest, part of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. We are finalizing details, but plan to announce the official registration for these trips next week. Here are the dates to mark on your calendar: Arrival day will be Sunday, June 26 at the respective program sites. The trips will be from June 27 through June 29, with additional activities on June 30. Participants will travel home on July 1. The trip is geared toward teens and young adults who want to rise to the challenge of adventure in the great outdoors and make lifelong friends in the process.
Comments
Is the Old Testament Obsolete? Jesus said that Christians are to live “by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). The Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). When Paul wrote these words, he was primarily referring to the Old Testament. Yet, this is ignored by many professing Christians today who believe the Old Testament has been superseded by the New Testament. However, when Jesus and the Apostles quoted scriptures, they quoted from the Old Testament. Paul also told Christians in Corinth that the Old Testament examples were “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:1–11). We need to learn from the instructions and examples in both the Old Testament and the New Testament so we will be able to teach others in the Kingdom how to live by every word of God.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—April 7, 2022
Will Sunday Be a Worldwide Day of Rest? In March of this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued its most recent fuel report. The IEA is an international body made up of 39 member and associate member nations, many of which are major players in international affairs. In their report, the IEA put forth a ten-point plan to cut worldwide oil use. Some of the action steps include lowering speed limits, working from home three days per week, making public transportation cheaper to use, using high-speed trains instead of airplanes, and increasing the use of electric vehicles.
The third recommendation in the plan calls for the creation of “car-free Sundays.” This idea was tested in 3,000 cities and towns around the globe in 2021. According to the report, “Banning the use of private cars on Sundays brings a number of additional benefits to public health and well-being, including cleaner air, reduced noise pollution and improved road safety.”
The IEA is not a policy-making body, but instead makes recommendations to member nations, who are encouraged to seriously consider adopting them. Imagine the impact of entire nations enforcing car-use bans on Sundays. Entire nations will come to a halt, essentially enforcing a day of rest or “sabbath” on these nations every Sunday. Is it possible that the Roman Catholic Church could get behind such an effort? The Bible indicates that an enforcement of Sunday worship is coming. To learn more, be sure to view our brief whiteboard video “What Is the Mark of the Beast?”
Your Talking Bones: Skeletons often evoke thoughts of death. We also tend to view them as the simple “support structure” of the body. Medical science has long understood that bones manufacture both white and red blood cells, provide a storehouse for calcium and other minerals, and possess remarkable healing properties. However, recent research demonstrates there is even more to bones that meets the eye!
Science is discovering that bones communicate chemically with many other parts of the body, including the brain, muscle and fat tissue, the kidneys and pancreas, and even microbes in our digestive system (Smithsonian Magazine, March 3, 2022). As one author observed in surprise: “It’s as if you suddenly found out that the studs and rafters in your house were communicating with your toaster.” One of the chemicals produced in bone—osteocalcin—impacts learning and memory in the brain, male fertility, production of neurotransmitters, and even the regulation of blood sugar levels, ultimately impacting diabetes risk.
As research advances, medical science continues to prove the human body and its organ systems are far more complex and interactive than once thought. The profound truth of King David’s observation that he was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) continually deepens with each discovery! And when he cries to God, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled” (Psalm 6:2), we begin to see the possibility that such words communicate more than a poetic sentiment. Sickness and health, in a deeper way than previously realized, is interconnected with our very bones. These findings serve well to further confound the shallow arguments of evolution. To learn more about how the human skeletal system displays God’s creative power, be sure to read “Your Living Bones.”—Scott Winnail, Philippe Pierre, and Richard Franz