Greetings brethren,
God's Word reminds us to "recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). You might be interested to know that the Living Church of God now has 70 area pastors shepherding 364 local congregations in 50 countries around the world, teaching, preaching, and training future leaders. One hundred fifty-eight additional pastors and elders serve in other capacities. There is much work being done, but much more to do. Pray "the Lord of the harvest" to provide for the laborers we need (Matthew 9:38)!
In HQ news, Dr. Meredith received a Telly award (see article) and is recording his Opening Night message—a reminder that the Feast is just three months away. This week 14,398 copies of Mr. Ames' co-worker letter are being sent out—please be praying that these co-workers will enthusiastically respond to Mr. Ames' challenge to be even more committed to God's way and engaged in God's Work. Dr. Doug Winnail has been visiting our ministers and brethren in Scotland the last few days, and will return home early next week. Mr. Mario Hernandez will be in Belgium conducting three TWPs this weekend (see announcement below). Summer camps in Texas and West Virginia are wrapping up this week—Missouri Pre-Teen camp is next, beginning June 28.
As the world stumbles ever closer to the end of this age, let's be thankful for our part in God's worldwide Work, and the powerful message of peace it is proclaiming.—RMc
Church Administration
Tomorrow's World Presents in Belgium
Mr. Mario Hernandez is scheduled to give three Tomorrow's World Presentations in Belgium next week, one in Liège and two in Charleroi. We expect both new people and former members to attend these events and your prayers for effectiveness are much appreciated.
Living Church News Announcements Must Come from Ministry
Thank you to pastors who have sent in timely announcements of milestone events in the lives of brethren in the congregation. That is very much appreciated by the LCN staff and certainly by the members themselves. Please make sure these announcements come from or through you, not directly from members themselves. Whether members write up their own announcements or you delegate someone in the area to write up local announcements, the announcements must be sent to you for your review before you forward them to us. Publication policy is that pastoral approval is required for any announcements to be published in the Living Church News.
Phoenix Cupcake Auction Fundraiser
It may have been hot in Phoenix—but on June 7, the annual Arizona BBQ Picnic and Cupcake Auction was hotter, as members from the Arizona congregations gathered at El Dorado Park in Scottsdale for an enjoyable day of fellowship, fun, and fundraising. The children were encouraged to make and decorate four cupcakes per entry and everyone, young and old, bid on them. This has been a wonderful and fun way to build a fund to help send our youth to camp. This year we had 30 entries and a lot of auction activity and raised the needed funds for a good cause. Last year we were able to send three of our youths to camp and the funds not only covered our expenses of park rental and picnic supplies, but also the airline tickets, camp tuition and miscellaneous expenses for the youth! This year we expect to be able to do even more, plus we all enjoyed the usual family fun, games and delicious food so many prepared for the very delightful day!—Rodger Bardo
Festival (Second Tithe) Assistance Requests—U.S. Only—Repeat Announcement
Attention U.S. Pastors: The deadline to submit Festival Assistance Request forms to the Church Administration Department is Wednesday, July 15. All forms should be properly completed by the members requesting second tithe assistance to attend the Feast this year. Then, the Area Pastors should write their recommendations/comments on the forms before submitting them to CAD. Festival Assistance Request forms are available to ministers on the MyLCG Web site (www.cogl.org). Note: Members requesting second tithe assistance should plan to attend their assigned site, unless there are extenuating circumstances.—Festival Office
Television Department
Television Department—Telly Award for Dr. Meredith's program "Escape the Great Tribulation"!—Repeat Announcement
We are pleased to let you know that Dr. Meredith's extremely powerful telecast titled "Escape the Great Tribulation" has just been awarded a Telly! Telly Awards are given for outstanding television commercials and programs, and the finest online videos. They represent the best of the best in television and video production. This particular program was specifically noted for the excellent technical quality of the editing, which includes the overall post-production, graphics, sound, voice tracks, etc. With nearly 12,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, it is truly an honor to be awarded another Telly. This is a testament to Dr. Meredith's delivery and the level of production excellence that God has helped us achieve as we strive to fulfill the Great Commission (Mark 16:15)! Dr. Meredith's powerful telecast can be viewed on the Tomorrow's World Web site at http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/telecasts/escape-the-great-tribulation.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Feast of Tabernacles
FOT News and Updates
The Feast is just over three months away! Festival coordinators are hard at work preparing site activities in preparation for this year's Feast. If you haven't done so already, check out the Festival Web site of your site for news and information. (To access the Festival Web site, go to www.lcg.org and click on "Feast of Tabernacles.")
More than 4,000 households are now successfully registered online for the Feast of Tabernacles. Remember, even if you are planning to attend your assigned site, you still must register. (To register for a Feast site, access the same Festival Web site, by going to www.lcg.org and clicking on "Feast of Tabernacles.")
Beginning July 12, all LCG members and guests attending the Feast of Tabernacles will be invited to begin registering for activities at their respective Feast sites. Payments for activities will also be able to be made at that time. Activity Registration and payment will be made via your MyLCG account, through the Festival Web site. (For those planning on going to the Feast in Hawaii, activity registration will begin sooner, date to be announced.)
Living Youth Program
Ohio Teen Camp 2015—Repeat Announcement
The Ohio Teen Camp Staff applications are now closed. Camper applications are open for another week, until June 26. The Master Schedule for summer camp is now available on the Living Youth Web site. All Activity Directors should check this schedule of classes to verify the number of classes you will be responsible to write lesson plans for. An updated "Staff List" has also been posted.—Sheldon Monson
Comments
Is There Hope? On December 17, 1927, the USS S-4, an S-class United States submarine was ascending after a routine maneuver off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Upon reaching the surface, the 231-foot ship, with a crew of 42 men, was accidentally rammed by a Coast Guard destroyer Paulding. A gash cut through the submarine's hull, seawater rushed in, and the vessel quickly sank to the ocean floor, at a depth of about 100 feet. Frantic rescue efforts were hampered by severe weather. The next morning, Navy divers, at the risk of their own lives, renewed efforts to rescue six men known to be trapped in an air pocket in the submarine. Divers communicated with the trapped men by tapping Morse code messages on the hull with a hammer. As their air began to run out, the desperate men tapped out the heartbreaking words, "Is… there… hope?" Tragically, the heroic efforts of the divers to reach the men or raise the sub were thwarted, and the trapped men perished. The last message tapped out by the doomed servicemen was, "We… understand."
Brethren, this desperate world is crying out for hope. Paul wrote in Romans 8:22, "For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now." Many sense that something is dreadfully wrong, and time is running out. But they don't know where to turn! Speaking of the enslaved condition of carnal human beings, Solomon wrote, "His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin" (Proverbs 5:22). All of his human efforts to escape are futile! But God's Work—this Work all of us are doing—is trumpeting out the vital message that there is a way out, through God's plan of salvation. The Living Church of God is publishing the positive message that God has a plan, He is working it out, and Christ will soon be here to save humanity from utter destruction.
The Work of God is vitally important! Let's make sure we are doing our part now, every day—working together, praying fervently and supporting God's Work financially—to send that needed message to a dying world, "Yes, there is HOPE!"
Have an inspiring Sabbath,
Rod McNair
News and Prophecy—June 18, 2015
Peacekeepers or Oppressors? Recently "the UN has come under fire for failing to act after it prepared an initial 2014 report into alleged child sexual abuse committed by soldiers from France, Chad and Equatorial Guinea…" (Deutsche Welle, June 3, 2015). "The regular sex abuse by peacekeeping personnel uncovered here and the United Nations' appalling disregard for victims are stomach-turning, but the awful truth is that this isn't uncommon" (The Guardian, April 29, 2015). "United Nations peacekeepers commonly pay for sex with cash, dresses, jewelry, perfume, cell phones and other items, despite a ban on such relationships with people the world body is trying to help... surveys of hundreds of women in Haiti and Liberia found their reasons for selling sex included hunger, poverty and lifestyle improvement" (Reuters, June 10, 2015). In a world full of war and despair, the intended role of peacekeepers is to bring hope to troubled nations and people, yet their actions are increasingly evil. This self-serving behavior is just the opposite of servant leadership that God desires (Matthew 20:25-28). The return of Jesus Christ, the true "Prince of Peace," will end this abuse of power and set the world on a different course—"of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end" (Isaiah 9:6-7). True Christians are preparing now to serve as the greatest peacekeeping force in history that will bring stability and joy to all mankind. For more information on God's coming Kingdom, watch our telecast "A Soon Coming Utopia."
Are NATO's Days Numbered? Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty clearly states "an armed attack against one or more of them [NATO members] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all" (EU Observer, June 10, 2015). However, "More than half of Germans, Italians, and French are opposed to using military force to help a NATO ally in a conflict with Russia, according to a survey published by US think tank Pew on Wednesday (10 June). In Germany, 58 percent said their country should not get involved in a hypothetical conflict between Russia and a neighboring NATO state, indicating an erosion of the solidarity on which the alliance is built" (ibid.). "But, in a sign of how Europeans view US protection, large majorities in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK believe the US would use force against Russia even if their own states wouldn't" (ibid.). The U.S. obviously cannot support NATO actions alone, and thus the future of NATO, if left up to the citizens of many of its member nations, is on tenuous footing. Bible prophecy reveals that a powerful European force known as the "beast" or "king of the north" (absent the U.S. and Britain), will be the world superpower for a time, as we approach the end of the age (Daniel 11:40-43). This beast power will become the dominant power in Europe, politically and militarily, and likely replace NATO. For more insight into this coming new European power, be sure to read The Beast of Revelation: Myth, Metaphor or Soon-Coming Reality?
Global Obesity Rates Rising Fast! "The global diabetes rate has risen by nearly half over the past two decades, according to a new study, as obesity and the health problems it spawns have taken hold across the developing world" (New York Times, June 8 2015). "The [Lancet] study... reported a 45 percent rise in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide from 1990 to 2013. Nearly all the rise was in Type 2, which is usually related to obesity..." (ibid.). "A major shift is underway in the developing world, in which deaths from communicable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis have declined sharply, and chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes are on the rise. The pattern is linked to economic improvement and more people living longer... China helped drive the rise in the global toll of diabetes. The... disease there increased by about 56 percent over the period of the study... In the United States, the rate increased by 71 percent, and in Saudi Arabia by 60 percent. In Mexico it rose by 52 percent" (ibid.). Scripture actually contains health laws designed to prevent disease. Refer to Proverbs 25:16, 27 and Leviticus 7:23-24, precluding or limiting the consumption of foods related to the rise in obesity and diabetes. That is why God promised the ancient Israelites that if they would follow His commandments and statutes, "I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians" (Exodus 15:26; 23:25), which include cancer, heart disease and diabetes. As more people of the world adopt the gluttonous lifestyles of Western nations, they begin to experience the same diseases. For more information on this topic, read "Bible Principles of Health" in our Tomorrow's World magazine.—Scott Winnail, Justin Ridgeway and Francine Prater