Greetings from Charlotte,
More than 450 brethren from various parts of the USA gathered in Kansas City last weekend for several days of fellowship and fun amidst "moderate" winter temperatures. Mr. Phil West gave a Friday evening Bible Study on the "Family" and I gave the sermon on the Sabbath on the topic of "What Does it Mean To Be a Chosen People?" As we look back over the past year, it is good to see the world did not end on the several dates that were predicted, but the year for God's Work was one of growth on many fronts—in membership, income, television stations, magazine circulation, Internet exposure and Tomorrow's World Presentations. We are indeed grateful to God for these expanding opportunities to preach the Gospel and feed the flock that He is calling. Here in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith has been writing and holding meetings. The Tomorrow's World program last weekend by Mr. King, entitled "The Apostles Prophetic Journeys II," is expected to draw more than 4,800 responses. Mr. Ames' program the previous week on Christmas received more than 7,000 responses from an estimated one million listeners. Dr. Scott Winnail has returned safely from very encouraging visits with brethren in Guyana, Brazil, Trinidad and Barbados. Mr. Mario Hernandez will be in Mexico this Sabbath and will return to Charlotte on Monday. Please pray that God will continue to bless and guide His Work in the coming year.—DSW
Church Administration
Attention Pastors and DVD Recipients—Downloadable FTP Sermons
We have implemented a new method to deliver sermons to local congregations faster, while also reducing shipping costs. This is an optional program that is already producing good results in cost and delivery-time savings. Video Recipients who would like to participate in this program can download Headquarters sermons directly to their computers from a secure online "ftp" location, thus eliminating shipping costs and greatly reducing delivery-time. The downloaded sermons can then be copied (burned) to DVDs or CDs, or played directly from the computer. We have begun this program with English language sermons, but intend to soon add sermons in Spanish and French as well.
Video Recipients who would like to participate in this program and begin downloading sermons from the "ftp" site, instead of receiving them in the mail, should contact their Area Pastor (or Regional Pastor, if in an international area) who will, in turn, contact the Mail Processing Department via e-mail at [email protected]. MPD will then send you username and password information, file downloading instructions, and a "download manager" suggestion that will help you manage and speed up the download process. Please note, the sermon videos are large files, so to utilize this service, you will need to have high-speed Internet access. Thank you to those who can participate in this program. And thank you, for giving of your time and energy to serve God's people.
Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend
The Anderson, South Carolina, congregation is pleased to announce that it will be hosting its sixth Spring Holy Day Weekend from Friday, March 29 to Monday, April 1, during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Currently planned events include: a Friday afternoon bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail; a Friday night Bible Study; services on the Sabbath; a banquet and ball Saturday night; a picnic and recreational activities, including a 5K road race and softball games, on Sunday; and Last Day of Unleavened Bread Holy Day services on Monday. Weekly Sabbath and Holy Day services, and the banquet and ball will be held at the Greenville Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville, South Carolina.
Further details about the event and registration instructions will be announced in the coming weeks. For further information, contact Manuel Burdette at +1-864-638-7719 or by e-mail at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you in Greenville for the best Spring Weekend ever!
Spring 2013 Living for Tomorrow for Young Adults (Repeat Announcement)
Attention all young adults! Pre-register now for our upcoming L4T program in beautiful upstate New York! Come prepared to experience God's Spring Holy Days with other young adult singles dedicated to becoming pillars and leaders in God's Church. Participants will arrive on March 25 and depart on March 29. The program will include indoor and outdoor activities both on-site at the Epworth Retreat and Conference Center and in the nearby Catskill Mountains. We will have interactive workshop-style classes challenging and stretching you to build a strong foundation for a life dedicated to God—with other young adults who have the same goal! The L4T will be rounded out by social activities to help you build bonds of friendship with other young adults from across the near and far. We are accepting men and women from ages 18 to 30. Don't miss this unique opportunity, designed specifically for young adults in the Living Church of God! For more information and to pre-register, just go to http://l4tspring2013.weebly.com (not an official Church website).—Jonathan McNair
Living Youth Programs
Next Online Teen Bible Study: January 20
The online Teen Bible Studies will resume on Sunday, January 20. The Bible Study that evening will be presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson.
Feast of Tabernacles 2013
USA Feast Sites Announced
As we have entered the new year, we are happy to announce the finalized Feast of Tabernacles sites and Festival Coordinators for 2013 (USA only):
Anchorage, Alaska (Mr. Rodger Bardo)
Boerne, Texas (Mr. Dan Hall)
Chattanooga, Tennessee (Mr. Ron Poole)
Innisbrook, Florida (Mr. John Strain)
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri (Mr. Wallace Smith)
Newport, Oregon (Mr. Glen Gilchrist)
Indian Wells (Palm Springs area), California (Mr. Darrell Lovelady)
Park City, Utah (Mr. Ben Whitfield)
Tannersville, Pennsylvania (Mr. Jonathan McNair)
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin (Mr. Phil West)
We are still working on finalizing one more USA Feast site in the Southeast region, and will announce it as soon as it is "nailed down." Also, we hope to announce some of the International Feast sites next week—stay tuned!
Festival Advisors Selected Soon
Pastors! Please be thinking about whom your Festival Advisors (one for each congregation) will be for the year 2013 Feast season. Festival Advisors assist brethren, who don't have Internet access, with festival registration matters. Pastors, we will soon be canvassing you for your selection—so please be thinking about it now.—Festival Office
Living University
Living University—Two More Weeks to Register
There are two more weeks remaining until the start of the next semester. Classes will begin January 16, so those wishing to take classes need to register and purchase textbooks as soon as possible. For those who have never taken a Living University course, you will need to enroll in the University first, and then register for your selected course. A complete listing of "Spring Semester" courses (Spring in the northern hemisphere), can also be viewed on the Living University website, www.livinguniv.com, under the link "Spring 2013 Class Schedule." A list of textbooks can also be found on the website. To make an application to Living University, to register for courses, and to find out more, please visit the www.livinguniv.com website. For additional information, contact Mrs. Michelle Broussard at [email protected] or by phone at +1-704-708-2294.
Internet Operations
February 10 online Tomorrow's World Presentation with Dr. R.C. Meredith at 3:30 p.m. EST, titled "What's Ahead for America and the World." (Must Read)
Join Dr. Meredith and thousands from around the world for a special, online, live Tomorrow's World presentation, entitled "What's Ahead for America and the World." Dr. Meredith will discuss powerful prophecies about events leading up to the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth. Dr. Meredith will also explain what true Christians should be doing today, what original Christianity is, and what is the real work of the Church of God. You will hear real insight and real answers about what lies just ahead in world events. For more information, and to register, please visit the following Web page: TomorrowsWorld.org/online-TWP. Register soon and mark your calendars for February 10 at 3:30 p.m. EST. We will live-stream this presentation directly to your computer. Follow the instructions to register for this important, live event!
French and Spanish Websites Update
The year 2012 was a wonderful year for the French and Spanish websites. Both of them recorded massive growth. And 2013 is also expected to record steady growth, as we expect to increase our presence and our efficiency on social networks, under the supervision of Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka.
In order to present a global approach, we launched in February 2012 the new version of the Spanish website www.MundoManana.org, using the same design as www.TomorrowsWorld.org. This website is optimized for indexing in the major search engines and Miss Madeleine Lincoln-Strange now takes care of most content updates. As a result of these efforts and thanks to God's blessings, the Spanish website is doubling its audience every quarter—jumping from 4,000 visits in June to 11,500 visits in December. The most active countries during that period were Mexico (20%), the United States (18%), Colombia and Spain (7.5%), and then Argentina (6%). In addition, a new dedicated website has been launched for the Bible Study Course in Spanish, www.curso-biblia.org. We recorded visitors from 98 countries and territories for the Spanish websites.
After the release of its new version in 2011, the French website www.MondeDemain.org recorded a tremendous growth in 2012. Unique visitors and sessions grew by 45%, with 238k unique visitors and 347k visitor sessions from 190 countries and territories. For the first time, the number of page views surpassed the million-mark in one year. We recorded more than 410k downloads of articles, booklets, telecasts, commentaries and other literature, with a significant growth for the booklets (150k downloads in 2012 compared to 61k in 2011). The Bible Study Course in French, www.coursdebible.org, recorded a small increase of unique visitors (5%), but the registrations have almost doubled with 821 new students in 2012. In addition, 10% of the students have completed the first test (lessons 1-4) and 20 students (2.4%) have completed the 24 lessons. In all aspects, 2012 was the best year since the launch of the French website in 2001.
We are grateful to God for His blessings on the Work in French and Spanish on the Internet.—VG Lardé
Comments
Are You a Team Player? Members of successful organizations (teams, families, churches, and organizations) develop the necessary skills and perspectives to function together to accomplish goals. These skills and perspectives can be identified and learned. As Christians, we must develop these same qualities—and many are clearly biblical. Effective Christian team players focus on the same goal—they will seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) and they strive to do the Work of God together (Mark 16:15). Effective team players avoid saying or doing things that offend others (Matthew 18:7; 1 Corinthians 10:32). They are forgiving and able to overlook slights and insults because they have learned not to be easily offended (Proverbs 10:12; 17:9; 1 Corinthians 13:5). Team players do not sit in judgment of others—accusing, criticizing and digging up evil things about others—instead they make sure their own lives are in order (Matthew 7:1-5; James 4:11). Team players are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), they treat others gently, respectfully and patiently and are willing to listen (James 1:19), and they do not promote themselves at the expense of others (Matthew 20:20-24). Effective team members appreciate that the team is made up of individuals with different talents. In short, good team players have learned to love their neighbors. Let's strive to develop these vital qualities.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—January 3, 2013
A United Korean Peninsula? The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, has called for the end of hostilities and unification between North and South Korea. During his new year's address, he stated: "An important issue in putting an end to the division of the country and achieving its reunification is to remove confrontation between the north and the south" (Reuters, January 1, 2013). It is interesting to note that he referred to both Koreas as "the country" making it clear that he already sees the peninsula as one! The two countries have escalated tensions since 2010, due to North Korean military advances. This new approach by the North Korean leader seems to be a return to the ways of his grandfather—seeking better relations with the South. South Korea's newly elected president seems to also be reaching out to her northern neighbors (ibid.). "During the election campaign… Park Geun Hye called for stronger engagement with Pyongyang, in contrast with her predecessor…" (Deutsche Welle, January 1, 2013). Prophecy foretells of a unification or confederation of nations that will be capable of massing an army of 200 million men who will march from the east and converge on the European Beast who will be fortified in Jerusalem (Revelation 9:13-21; Daniel 11:40-45). It will be interesting to see if these two nations (where relatives live on each side of the border) will put aside their differences and work more closely together, perhaps leading toward a stronger and more unified Asian continent! For more information on these events, read our magazine article, "Return of the Dragon."
Will the U.S. Drought Continue? In the middle of winter few people, other than farmers, worry about precipitation. Most would prefer not to have any, as most of it comes as snow or ice. Few realize how vital and important winter precipitation is in recharging our soils with moisture and protecting our perennial crops. Much of the U.S. has been experiencing one of the most severe and long-lasting droughts in history. According to the USDA's drought monitor, for the end of December, 61.8% of the country was in drought (Brownfield AG News, December 31, 2012); and 25% of Minnesota, 42% of Iowa, 63% of South Dakota and 96% of Nebraska are in extreme to exceptional drought—the two worst categories. All four are among the top six corn-producing states (Southwest Farm Press, December 27, 2012). In Deuteronomy 28:58, God told ancient Israel that if it was not careful to observe all the words of His law, He would allow terrible curses to come upon them. As descendants of ancient Israel, modern-day U.S. and Great Britain are still under this prophecy. Verse 24 tells us that God will change the rain of our land to powder and dust, if we are not careful to observe all of His commandments. On December 17, 2012, the panhandle of Texas, near Lubbock, endured its second major dust storm in two years—reminiscent of the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. Whether this will become the long-prophesied "end-time drought" remains to be seen, but according to the Bible, unless the Israelite-descended nations begin to repent and change their sinful ways, severe drought and dust storms will continue.
Pray for National Leaders: The U.S. Secretary of State was recently hospitalized due to a blood clot in her head. "The U.S. secretary of state, who has not been seen in public since December 7, was revealed on Sunday evening to be in a New York hospital under treatment for a blood clot that stemmed from a concussion she suffered in mid-December" (Reuters, December, 31 2012). In times when political divisions are generating resentments and hatreds that are tearing nations apart and threatening the lives of leaders, we need to remember certain biblical admonitions directed at Christians. No matter who is in office, we must remember God has allowed these people to be in authority. Jesus told Pilate, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above" (John 19:11). Christ taught that the Father gives certain authority to men and women. Paul instructed Timothy to pray for world leaders, "for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior" (1 Timothy 2:1-4). We should pray daily for national repentance, but also for leaders to make decisions to enable God's people to live peaceable lives, to grow and to do His Work, because this is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of our God. For more information on this extremely important topic, read our free article, "Loyalty to Our Leaders."–Scott Winnail, Gene Hilgenberg and Justin Ridgeway