Greetings from Charlotte,
It is good to be back in Charlotte. My wife and I had a number of very encouraging visits with brethren in the UK and Ireland, after Mr. King and I conducted a Regional Conference in Wales. It is certainly encouraging to see the Church growth in that area of the world—especially in light of social trends that seem to be moving in an increasingly secular and anti-Christian direction. Mr. Meredith is currently working on his "Personal" for the July-August issue of Tomorrow's World magazine. His television program "A New World Is Coming," which debuted today and will air on television from May 14-20, is the first Tomorrow's World program made in the new high definition studio. The next "new set" Tomorrow's World program is currently scheduled to air in late June. This week, Mr. Wallace Smith and Mr. Rod King have taped new programs for Tomorrow's World television. Mr. Smith's two newest programs (his first on the new set) are titled "What Will Save America?" which offers The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy, and "Hope for Your Future," which offers Your Ultimate Destiny. Mr. King's new program is titled, "What on Earth Is God Doing?" which offers Prophecy Fulfilled! God's Hand in World Affairs. Dr. Germano has also been in Charlotte to go over a number of issues regarding Living University with Dr. Scott Winnail. This week also winds up the semester for Living University classes. This coming Sunday and Monday we will conduct a Regional Conference in Missouri for Church leaders in that area of the USA.
Church Administration
Caribbean Update
Mr. Dexter Wakefield reports: We are excited to hear that a suitable hall has been found for services near Castries, St. Lucia. The brethren in French-speaking Martinique and English-speaking Barbados are very keen to reestablish a congregation in English-speaking St. Lucia, which had such an outpouring of interest when I was last there. From the hills on the north end of St. Lucia, you can see Martinique in the distance—sister islands. I have a busy schedule in May, but hope to be able to go to St. Lucia and conduct a service soon. Please keep the fledgling congregation in St. Lucia in your prayers.
New Radio Station in Cameroon
Last Sunday, May 10, we began broadcasting the French radio program Le Monde de Demain, presented by evangelist Dibar Apartian, on a radio station that covers Yaoundé, the capital of the west African nation of Cameroon, a city of almost 1.5 million.
Spanish Update
The last part of Mr. Mario Hernandez's extended visiting tour to South America included a visit to our congregation in Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego (our southernmost congregation in the world) on April 21. Two days later, Mr. Hernandez traveled to Bahia Blanca where he met new prospective members who have learned the Truth through the Spanish radio program. On the Sabbath of April 25, he ordained Mr. Aaron Bravo in Bahia Blanca as an elder. He has been serving God's Church in Argentina as a deacon for more than seven years. During his visit, Mr. Hernandez also presented two live radio programs related to the current financial crisis. Hernandez returned to the United States on May 2.
Africa and United Kingdom Update
Mr. Rod King writes: Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Weston spent a week with us in the U.K. over the spring Holy Days and, a day before they left us, I travelled to South Africa for our board meetings. I had a chance to spend some time with Messrs. Botha and van der Byl discussing our plans for the future, as well as meeting up with acquaintances from the past.
We ordained Mr. Pierre Schoeman from Johannesburg a deacon and Mrs. Thea Wallace from Pretoria a deaconess. I also conducted lesson five of the Advanced Leadership Training Program. From Johannesburg, I travelled to Nairobi, where I spent three days with Mr. Simon Muthama, our East African pastor.
I returned to London on April 30 and my wife and I left the next day for North Wales where we and Dr. and Mrs. Winnail held a long-weekend conference. Twenty-two people there from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Switzerland and Holland. It was held at the Bryn Howel Hotel where we keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This was Mr. John Meakin's first meeting with all of the leaders and he contributed with a lecture on organizing local congregations.
We also held the U.K. and Irish Board meetings. We announced that Mr. and Mrs. Rick Stafford will be moving to the U.K. just before the Feast of Tabernacles to help with the growing number of members and congregations. Mrs. Stafford was born in London so she is, in some ways, "coming home."
Online Attendance Reporting
We are very grateful to all those who diligently enter their congregation's attendance reports on the online attendance reporting system via MyLCG (www.cogl.org). We request that reports be entered with complete information, including speakers names, sermonette and sermon titles, and any comments that might be necessary. Please note which sermonette or sermon messages were on DVD format. Thanks again for your excellent work!
Comments
Real Philadelphia Christians: The book of Revelation describes Philadelphia Christians as having a strong desire to carry out the mission that Jesus Christ gave to His Church. According to the Scriptures, that mission involves preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to this world and especially to the Israelite nations (Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 10:1-7), warning the world about the difficult times that will arise at the end of the age (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), and preparing a people to reign with Jesus Christ in the coming government of God (Luke 1:17). However, as the name "Philadelphia" means "brotherly love," true Philadelphians will also strive to follow Jesus' admonition to "love one another" (John 15:12-17). They understand that showing unselfish, outgoing concern for others (versus sitting in judgment of others) is one of the distinguishing marks of a real Philadelphia Christian (John 13:34-35). Let's all look for ways to show "brotherly love" to others.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—May 14, 2009
The Pope and the Muslim World? For millennia, the Holy Land has been fought over by many peoples and nations and has truly been a "heavy stone" for all who solve the problems surrounding it (Zechariah 12:3). Tuesday, Benedict XVI became the first Pope to ever enter the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. In comments to him, the highest-ranking Muslim cleric in Jerusalem, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, stated, "We look forward for your holiness's effective role in putting an end to the ongoing aggression against our people, our land, and our holy sites in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank." This statement, appealing to the Pope to bring peace to Jerusalem and surrounding territories, fell on the heels of the Pope's comments about a need for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Pope also took opportunity to denounce anti-Semitism (www.goldcoastmail.com.au, May 12, 2009). During his current trip to the Holy Land, the Pope is laboring to build lasting bridges with both Arabs and Jews and gaining respect in the eyes of both, most importantly in the eyes of Arabs. Exactly how the next few years will play out with regard to Jerusalem remains to be seen. Geopolitical events must occur that allow a temporary peace to come to Jerusalem—a peace that will allow for the relatively safe reinstitution of religious animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount (see Daniel 9:27; 12:11).
Nation Against Nation—Under the Sea! This week is the deadline for nations to claim mineral rights to the seabed up to 350 miles from their borders, according to a 1982 convention on the Law of the Sea. At stake is seabed off the coast of the Falkland Islands, the South China Sea, and the Artic, where a handful of nations are competing for rights. Russia has claimed the entire Arctic territory for itself, having gone to the trouble of placing a territory marker on the floor of the ocean under the North Pole in 2007—a move that has not been internationally recognized. At this point, the United Nation has the responsibility of "redrawing" territory lines for a handful of nations. Disputes between nations must undergo arbitration by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or the International Court of Justice. Meanwhile, in a recently-released report, Russia stated, "In a competition for resources it cannot be ruled out that military force could be used to resolve emerging problems that would destroy the balance of forces near the borders of Russia and her allies… The Kremlin has insisted that it is not 'militarizing the Arctic' but its warnings of armed conflict suggest that it is willing to defend its interests by force if necessary as global warming makes exploitation of the region's energy riches more feasible" (The Times, May 14, 2009). Jesus Christ warned that nations rising against nations and wars and rumors of wars would be the beginning of sorrows at the end of the age (Matthew 24:6-8). The current dispute over "who owns the minerals at the bottom of the oceans" is further proof of the validity of Christ's end-of-the-age predictions.
What Makes People Happy? In an international Gallup poll, a representative sample of people from 140 nations were queried about how happy they are with their lives. The "happiest nations" had a number of factors in common. First, typically speaking, the happier nations were among the world's "richer." Second, nations with the lowest unemployment rates were happier. In that vein, nations with a "moderate" number of hours worked per week were also happier—too many or too few hours of weekly work resulted in lower happiness scores (Forbes, May 5, 2009). Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). However, there is a "way" to happiness that most people do not know because they reject most of the Bible. As part of the Sabbath command, God directs us to work "six" days. However, He also shows balance by ordering us to rest on the seventh day (Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus said that a worker is worthy of his hire and should be compensated fairly (Matthew 10:10). Results from this Gallup poll are especially interesting because they reinforce God's principles. What is also interesting is that many of the "happiest" nations are of Israelite descent. This is not surprising, since these Israelite-descended nations have been blessed because of Abraham's obedience and to the degree that they have followed God's intended way of life more than most other nations. As a result, they are happier—at least according to the recent Gallup poll.—Sue Bennett and Scott Winnail