Greetings from Charlotte,
This week has been pleasantly "low key" as we wind up another calendar year and get ready for another semester of Living University classes. Last weekend, more than 220 brethren converged on Charlotte for a special Sabbath service and dinner/dance on Saturday and family activities on Sunday. In his sermon, Mr. Meredith reviewed the recent history of God's Church and outlined the challenges ahead as we approach the end of this age. This week he recorded a new Tomorrow's World television program titled, "Benchmarks of Prophecy," which offers the booklet Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return. This coming weekend, my wife and I will be in Kansas City for services and a weekend of special activities. We are encouraged to report that Mr. John Turner, an elder in the St. Joseph, Missouri congregation, is showing improvement after brain surgery. He and his wife, Barbara, are very appreciative of our prayers. In Guyana, Dr. Scott Winnail was able to obtain a visa to travel to Brazil to visit, along with Mr. and Mrs. Greeman, our remote congregation in the village of Moscou. Because of the difficulty reaching it, this congregation is very isolated and rarely sees a full-time minister. We are sure Dr. Winnail's visit will be most encouraging to them.
Church Administration
Little Rock Family Weekend
The Little Rock Family Weekend is only two weeks away! The Little Rock congregation invites you to their "Go West" Family weekend and Western-theme costume dance on January 16 and 17, 2010. Join us for Sabbath morning Bible Study, services, a BBQ dinner and costume dance on Saturday and then a "flap-jack" breakfast and more activities on Sunday. Housing is still available. Please visit www.lcgarkansas.com for more details, and to register.
Living University
Spring Semester begins in less than three weeks—on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. Whether you are interested in a degree, or just want to increase your Bible knowledge, Living University is a fantastic opportunity. For those who want to take or audit a LU course, now is the time to register. For a complete list of LU courses, and to register for classes, please visit our website at www.livinguniv.com. Don't forget to check the Financial Aid section of the website for information about tuition assistance. If you have questions, please e-mail Dr. Scott Winnail at [email protected], or call 704-844-1966, option 7 (Dr. Winnail will be out of the country until January 10, 2010). For immediate help, please e-mail Dr. Michael Germano at [email protected].
For U.S. students interested in applying for on-campus study at Living University in Charlotte beginning in August, now is also the time to begin your application process. For more details, see our website www.livinguniv.com. If you have specific questions about the on-campus study program, please contact Dr. Scott Winnail after January 10, 2010.
Media
Television Response
Calendar year 2009 is ending with the highest last-week response we have ever received, and, as has been reported previously, the total count for the year is the highest ever. This week we aired program #360, "The Missing Message," offering the booklet, The Holy Days; God's Master Plan. We are expecting the week to end with about 4,900 responses. The past two Christmas holiday weekends in 2007 and 2008 brought in more than 4,500 responses each. This week's booklet offer produced the highest TV response for any previous Holy Day-booklet offer. The previous record was set back in 2004 when program #226, "Origins of Christmas," generated 2,893 responses.
This week's telecast brings the total response for the year 2009 to more than 212,600. Last year's record reached 203,204. To have an increase at all this year is surely a great blessing, especially since we cut our best-producing local broadcast stations back in June, and added two unknown national networks (unknown to us, as far as response was concerned). Those changes turned out to be a great strategic move for our budget, our audience-reach and our response levels.—Wayne Pyle
Comments
Redeeming the Time: The Apostle Paul urged brethren in Ephesus to live purposefully and to make the most of every opportunity to grow and become more like Jesus Christ "because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-18). Ephesus was a bustling port city that was full of temptations to distract and disorient individuals striving to live a Christian life. Jesus also warned against being sidetracked from our spiritual goals by getting caught up in the "cares—[the physical concerns]—of this world" (Matthew 13:22). These admonitions are still important today! As our secular and materialistic world hurtles towards the climax of this age, we need to stay focused on the main goal of developing the knowledge, wisdom and godly character that will be required to reign with Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God. Let's make the most of our time to prepare for this exciting future!
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—December 31, 2009
Egypt Distances from Muslim Extremists. For years, the Palestinian Hamas organization has used underground tunnels between Gaza and Egypt to smuggle money, arms and other supplies across the border into Gaza. When Egyptian authorities identify and destroy a tunnel, Hamas digs another tunnel and crosses the border again. Egypt understands these tunnels have been used to bring monetary and military support from Iran to Hamas. In an attempt to oppose Iran's efforts to spread its influence in the region, Egypt has enlisted the aid of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a six-mile-long steel fence along the border area. This fence (equipped with electronic sensors) will plunge 59 feet (nearly 20 meters) below the ground, making future tunnels very difficult to complete. This action by Egypt prompted a Damascus-based Hamas representative to recently declare that the construction of this fence was an "act of war" against the people of Gaza and their resistance (Stratfor, December 22, 2009). God prophesied long ago that in the last days, a king of the south would arise and oppose the king of the north. This southern king will form a confederacy of nations that will include Assyria's descendants (Germany—see Psalm 83:5-8). Today, many Arab nations are loosely aligned because of oil production and their Islamic faith—yet divided by nationalistic concerns. Could conflict within Islam put pressure on larger, more stable Arab nations to come together against what is perceived or made out to be a "common foe"—the nation of Israel? Time will tell.
Israel Withdraws All Ambassadors. In a drastic political move, all Israeli foreign ambassadors and consuls general were ordered back to Israel for a first-ever meeting hosted by Israel's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. "The idea [of the meeting] is to facilitate direct dialogue with the country's leaders, mutual updates on major diplomatic issues, and a discussion of action plans to deal with the challenges awaiting Israel in the international arena in the coming year, including the Iranian threat." This meeting comes on the heels of a recently released report by the UN Human Rights Council for Gaza, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called "a threat to Israel" (www.EUTimes.net, December 26, 2009). World events are speeding up and are perceived by Israel as a threat to its existence. Will "human rights" be used as a lever to allow the EU and other nations to control Israel? Israel is currently run primarily by Jews—descendants of the ancient Israelite tribe of Judah. Yet, God prophesied that, at the time of the end, just prior to the return of Christ, Jerusalem would once again be occupied by "Gentile" nations and surrounded by armies (Luke 21:24; Revelation 11:2). That time is coming, and events are pointing in a direction that will fulfill Bible prophecies recorded more than 2,000 years ago!—Scott Winnail and John Meakin