Hello everybody,
Sharon and I enjoyed a great visit to the Louisville, KY, Church area last weekend. We drove there on Friday, March 12, and then kept the Sabbath with 77 truly enthusiastic brethren. After services we filled a room at a local restaurant and shared a meal and fellowship, which was quite invigorating! On Sunday, we discussed regional church planning with Mr. and Mrs. Lambert Greer. Mr. Greer is the Regional Pastor there and he is also the coordinator for the Church singles program. You'll be hearing more from him, as time goes along, about developments in that program. All in all, this was a wonderful and inspiring trip.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Update on Mrs. Lambert Greer
We would like to thank everyone for their prayers, cards, and phone calls. Nancy is doing very well. The lymph node surgery indicated that cancer had not spread. Nancy is undergoing radiation treatments specific to the area of the malignancy. We are very grateful for God's guidance and intervention in so many ways through this trial. Our sincerest thanks to everyone. —Lambert and Nancy Greer
Festival Housing for 2004
Rumors abound about where the 2004 Feast sites will be located. Reports are being received here in Charlotte that some few are jumping the gun, in an attempt to get ahead of their brethren and book the best housing for themselves.
Some major changes in procedures will be announced in the upcoming Festival Brochure, the details of which are too numerous to explain here. However, the most significant difference this year is that everyone is being assigned to a specific site. The Church has grown to the point that we can no longer offer open attendance. Those wishing to travel to a location, other than the one to which they are assigned, will need to complete the transfer request form that is in the brochure. Seating is limited in some of the sites, and unregulated attendance could overwhelm the facilities.
Please wait to book your housing until you receive your 2004 Festival Brochure. Thank you all for your patience and help.
Atlanta Singles Weekend
The Atlanta congregation once again plans to have a spring singles activity during the Days of Unleavened Bread. All singles in the Living Church of God, 18 years old and up, are invited! Families are also welcome. The following activities are being planned: a Bible Study on Friday, April 9, at 8:00 pm (plan to arrive early on Friday afternoon); Sabbath services at 3:00 pm the next day, followed by a concert of special Sabbath music at 5:30 pm, a meal at 7:00 pm, and a dance starting at 8:30 pm. An activity is planned for the next afternoon (Sunday). We will, of course, have services the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. For further details go to the Atlanta congregation website, www.lcgatl.com, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. You must register by March 25th!
Mr. Lambert Greer, Living Church of God's singles coordinator, is also planning to attend this activity and looks forward to getting to know everyone there.
Philippines Update
Mr. Rod McNair sends this report: Mr. Gideon Benitez reports that although the brethren in his area mourn the loss of Mr. Tex Benitez, we are already seeing new brethren continuing to show interest in the Church. Here are some excerpts from his report:
We visited one widow with 6 fully grown up children who attended the funeral services of my father, who is a former member of the Church of God, 7th Day, that have signified to attend the Sabbath services and even asked for baptism…Another one that have added us was that a man with 5 fully grown up children who have expressed himself to attend the Sabbath services after reading our magazines and sometimes attending Sabbath services. He has shown his interest voluntarily. He started listening and seeing what we were doing in the Church since the 1980s, but just nowadays he said we are really the true Church.
He also relayed that some of the brethren who recently left because of some dissident activities have returned. We are glad to see them come back, and welcome them to continue doing the Work with us.
The Passover is only 18 days away, occurring on Sunday, April 4, just after sunset. I'm sure we are all starting to examine ourselves in preparation for taking part in this most important annual Festival in God's Church. The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 11:27-29, "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."
However, as we examine ourselves, we need to be balanced and positive. All too often, brethren go to extremes in this process, and are either too harsh on themselves or too general and easy in their assessment of their spiritual condition and growth. It shouldn't be a negative, depressing exercise at all. We need to be realistic. We are going to find that we have grown and achieved some good things in our lives over the past years. This should be very encouraging and humbling in the right way. We don't need to get puffed up about it—and we won't, if we give God the credit for helping us overcome. At the same time, we will discover some problems (spiritual leavening) in our lives that we must crush and put out. This will be sobering, yet we don't need to get negative or feel hopeless about that. We just need to cry out to God for help and strength to purge out these sins once and for all and then fight on and fight harder and harder to conquer them at last. And we can through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13, " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
So as we examine ourselves (and hopefully not others), it should be a serious yet positive learning experience that will enable us to take the Passover properly and set us firmly on a path of growth and progress in our close walk with God in the coming year. This is all a vital and necessary part of our Christian renewal and overcoming on our way to the Kingdom of God. Romans 6:4, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Have a wonderful Sabbath with friends and family!
Charles E. Bryce