Greetings from Charlotte,
The pace of activity here is beginning to pick up again after what seems to have been a very short summer! Dr. Meredith finished another co-worker letter that will be mailed this week to about 13,000 members and co-workers. Dr. and Mrs. Meredith were both very inspired by their visit to the Living Youth Teen Camp in Ohio where they observed the activities of about 280 campers and staff. Living University started its seventh year of operation when classes began this week. This semester we have a total enrollment of about 170 students from all around the world—including seven on-site students here in Charlotte. Mr. Hernandez is currently making congregational visits in Central America. This weekend Mr. Rod McNair will be in Trinidad and Mr. Wallace Smith will make a Tomorrow's World presentation in Saint Louis, Missouri. The European Summer Camp in Belgium will begin this weekend. With the fall Holy Days just around the corner, please pray that God will continue to guide and bless His people as we prepare for these important events and strive to do His Work.—DSW
Church Administration
Announcements for The World Ahead
Attention Church pastors: Please submit any announcements you have for The World Ahead to CAD by Wednesday afternoon for publication on Thursday.
Living Youth Programs
European Summer Camp Begins
We would appreciate your prayers for the success of our European LYC Camp to be held in Chevetogne, Belgium, for the next ten days. We have campers from the U.S., U.K., France, Belgium, Germany and Mexico. Mr. Rees Ellis is Camp Director and he will be assisted by Messrs. Jamie Meakin, Simon Roberts and Adam West. The site is located in a beautiful forest setting with lakes and other natural beauty. The campers will benefit from Christian Living classes as well as the advantages of a camp with just 25 campers. We welcome other overseas campers next year.—Rod King
Ohio Teen Camp
The Living Youth Camp 2013 at Camp Lazarus in Delaware, Ohio, came to a close last Sunday, August 11. This year 283 people attended, including 30 mini-campers, 153 campers and 100 staff members. The administrative staff would like to thank all those who worked long hours to make this yet another successful summer camp! Additionally, we would like to thank Dr. and Mrs. Roderick C. Meredith for taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend the final four days of camp. On Wednesday evening, Dr. and Mrs. Meredith visited a group of approximately 40 campers and staff members camping out at the lake during their overnight canoe trip. On Thursday morning, the entire camp lined up along the road to welcome them to the main campus. Immediately afterward, Dr. Meredith conducted the Christian Living Class, and then he and his wife took a tour of the facilities and viewed various scheduled activities. On Friday, they enjoyed spending more time visiting with everyone and continued their tour of the campus. On the Sabbath, Dr. Meredith preached the sermon to 325 in attendance. On Saturday evening, they enjoyed the Final Banquet, the first part of the Formal Dance, and the Final Camp Video, before retiring for the evening. They departed for home on Sunday afternoon, while we closed down the camp. Thank you for your contributions to another exciting camp! We are already looking forward to next year.—Sheldon Monson
Feast of Tabernacles 2013
Services before and after the Feast of Tabernacles
Attention all Area Pastors: Please send to [email protected] the time of services and contact person for each of your congregations for the Day of Atonement and for the Sabbath, September 28, which is right after the Feast. That information will be collated and made available to members travelling to and from the Feast sites and it needs to be posted as soon as possible so that members can solidify their plans.
Dominican Republic
The Feast is just four weeks away! Children, pre-teens, teens and singles, we have planned very interesting activities for you, but in order to complete the arrangements, we need you to register now. If there are not enough participants, we will have to cancel the plans. So parents, please review the descriptions of the various activities, talk to your children and teens and register them at this time. Singles: you won't want to miss out on a wonderful activity and fellowshipping with other singles while you discover a beautiful river. Please register for this activity right away. Also, all brethren who are planning to attend the Feast in the Dominican Republic, please make sure that you go back on the Feast Web site and fill out the service area where you would like to serve during the Feast. We need ushers, greeters, etc. Many hands make light work! Thank you very much.—Marc Arseneault
Snowshoe, West Virginia
For those planning to attend the Feast in Snowshoe, West Virginia, and enjoy one or more of the catered meals and the Family Day train ride, you need to complete and submit the Festival Activity Ticket Order Form, along with payment, by September 2. All of our catering orders need to be submitted to the resort two weeks before the Feast, requiring us to make decisions about Holy Day meals, DELs and Seniors luncheons, and the dinner/dance ahead of time. For those with Internet access, this Festival Activity Ticket Order Form can be found online and printed from the Snowshoe Festival Web site or via the MyLCG interface. For those without Internet or computer access, please see your Festival Advisor—he can print the form for you so you can mail it with your payment check for the activities and meals. Once we receive your payment, confirmation and event tickets will be mailed to you. For those who have submitted payment and forms, confirmation is being mailed this week. Thank you for your assistance with this advance planning. We will see you in Snowshoe very soon!
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon CDs—Repeat Announcement
Attention Pastors: Please send Mrs. Dorothy McNair, at [email protected], the names of those in your congregation(s) who will be unable to attend the Feast and who will need to receive the Feast of Tabernacles sermons on CD. The deadline to submit these requests is August 15 for international recipients and August 30 for recipients in the U.S. Note: Feast sermons will also be uploaded (one per day) during the Feast at www.lcg.org, for those who have Internet access.
International Travel—Repeat Announcement
When planning international travel, whether for the Feast of Tabernacles or at other times of the year, it is wise to learn about safety risks and steps you can take to minimize them. We suggest you check for travel advisories for each country you are visiting. (Keep in mind that sometimes travel warnings only apply to a section of a country. Please read the advisory in full and pay attention to the date the warning was issued.) The U.S. State Department posts current travel warnings on its Web site at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html.
U.S. citizens may want to register their itinerary with the U.S. embassies in each country they are visiting. (Web sites of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions may be found at http://www.usembassy.gov.) U.S. citizens may also want to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_4789.html. This is a free online service that helps the State Department contact you in case of an emergency while you are traveling.
Traveling internationally is a wonderful learning opportunity and can be done safely!—Sue Meredith, Travel Department
Finance Department
Hall Rentals (U.S.): October hall rental vouchers should be faxed to Accounting at 704-841-1922 or mailed (Attn: Accounts Payable) by September 1 to ensure processing before the Feast of Tabernacles.
Reimbursements (U.S.): Please note that our last scheduled day to print reimbursement checks will be Thursday, September 12. We will not be able to print any checks again until Thursday, October 3. Any invoices we receive before September 10 will be paid before the break. Any invoices we receive after September 10 will not be able to be paid until October 3. If you have any questions about specific invoices or payments, please contact Haley Ridgeway in Accounts Payable at 704-844-1960 ext. 2236 or send e-mail to [email protected].—Jerry Ruddlesden
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, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When these words were written and spoken, the primary Scriptures in existence were the books of the Old Testament—which are often discounted and ignored by most professing Christians today. Many have been told that the Old Testament has been superseded by the New Covenant and the New Testament. Yet, Paul wrote to New Testament Christians in Corinth about the Old Testament, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:1-11). When Jesus and the apostles quoted Scripture (as they did dozens and dozens of times), they quoted from the Old Testament. If we can learn from the scriptural examples recorded for us in both the Old and New Testaments, there will be benefits both now and in the coming Kingdom of God when we will be able to share these important lessons with all mankind.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—August 15, 2013
Bloodbath in Egypt: For weeks, Muslim Brotherhood protesters have camped out in Cairo and demonstrated against the military ousting of President Morsi. On Wednesday, government forces stormed two of the camps, killing 525 people and injuring 3,717 more. Some are now calling Wednesday "the bloodiest day in Egypt's recent history" (CNN, August 15, 2013). A recent Economist article commented on the unsettled populace in Egypt, "They no longer want paternal figures, but people who speak to the ambitions of youth. These demands may yet see the Brothers modernise…. But it may instead see a turn to something darker and more desperate" (The Economist, July 6, 2013). Many wonder where the current instability will lead. Bible prophecy reveals that, at the end of the age, a German-led European Beast power will enter a seven-year peace deal with many Middle Eastern nations (Daniel 9:27; Psalm 83:5-8), but this Beast power will terminate the agreement after only 3.5 years and attempt to exert total control of the region (Daniel 9:27; 11:40-43)—a desperate time may call for desperate measures! As conditions deteriorate throughout the Middle East, the time could be ripe for a European power to attempt to broker a temporary peace among feuding factions. For more on the prophetic future of the Middle East, be sure to read our free booklet, The Middle East in Prophecy!
Attacking Homosexuals—Godly Justice? Recently a homosexual couple in New York was attacked and beaten by six men and required medical treatment for their injuries (CBS, August 14, 2013). Although both the Old and New Testaments clearly identify homosexuality as sin (Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-32), those who attempt to exercise "Old Testament justice" are in clear violation of Christ's example and teaching. When Jesus was confronted with a woman caught in adultery, instead of following the Pharisees' demand to stone the woman as Moses "commanded" (John 8:5; Deuteronomy 22:22-24), Jesus Christ let her live and told her to "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). In order to repent—something that God desires of all people (2 Peter 3:9)—one must remain alive. The Bible also shows that one sin does not justify another (Matthew 5:19). In the New York incident, the attackers were also violating the biblical command not to harbor hateful and murderous attitudes in their hearts (Matthew 5:21-26; Romans 3:23). Jesus actually addressed this very issue when He told the Pharisees, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7)—an invitation that was never accepted. One day soon, Jesus Christ is going to return and implement His loving Law throughout the whole earth (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:5, 9). For more on God's righteous and loving Law, view our telecast on "The Miracle of the Ten Commandments."
Looks that Kill: In a quest for beauty at all costs, "Women across the U.S. are risking their lives for black market procedures to make their buttocks bigger, often involving home-improvement materials such as silicone injected by people with no medical training…Whatever the reason, they are seeking cheaper alternatives to plastic surgery—sometimes with deadly or disfiguring results" (Huffington Post, August 5, 2013). Many women "toss caution aside when black market procedures are the only ones they can afford" (ibid.). The beauty treatment Botox is used to combat wrinkles, but Botox is a drug made from the same bacteria that causes life-threatening food poisoning known as botulism (US National Library of Medicine). Satan's deceived society pressures women to seek the "perfect body" instead of the one God gave them (Revelation 12:9). From the start, Satan deceived mankind to believe they could live forever (Genesis 3:4), but when God's Law was broken, mankind was sentenced to death (Romans 6:23). The Bible reveals this physical life is temporary (Isaiah 51:6; Psalm 102:25-26), but that true life is from God through Christ (John 6:63). King Solomon and the Apostle Peter identified true beauty as the inner character and obedience to God, but outward beauty is fleeting (Proverbs 31:10-31, 1 Peter 3:4). When Christ returns He will teach all nations the true beauty of Christian womanhood. For encouraging information on true Christian womanhood, follow our "Woman to Woman" commentaries.—Scott Winnail and Justin Ridgeway