Weekly Update

August 1st, 2024

Greetings from Charlotte,

Some in the Charlotte office were encouraged Tuesday to see me drop in to sign some papers and say hello. God has been very merciful to me as I am making good progress. Thanks to all of you for your concern and prayers. Nevertheless, we still have those here and there who are going through severe trials and I hope you will remember those whom you know. Also, don’t just pray, “God heal….” Ask for God to build Christ in us. There may be no ongoing sinful activity that someone needs to overcome, but patience, faith and trust, courage, compassion, and much more can be learned from painful trials. And yes, we do pray for healing and relief from pain. Meanwhile, nieces, nephews, and others have stepped up to help Mrs. Ames. It is encouraging to see the love of so many helping out. And, the Work goes forward. One thing that we really need to beseech God for is to provide laborers—specifically ministers. It is difficult for a young man with a family and successful career to give it all up, but it is these successful young men that we need—if they give themselves in service to God. Of course, many of them are doing that on a local level and we need them as well, so I don’t want to put someone on a guilt trip. However, brethren, please do pray that God will provide these laborers. If you can, be sure to check out the video update each week, as more news of the Work can be found there. Mr. Wallace Smith gave the update this week.—Gerald Weston

Church Administration

Reminder: Special Livestreamed Sabbath Service on August 3 Churchwide Fast Day

This Sabbath, August 3, designated as a Churchwide fast day, a special Sabbath Service will be livestreamed from Headquarters. Mr. Weston is scheduled to give the sermon and all congregations are invited to tune in. Services will begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, USA. For congregations in time zones where this is impractical, a recorded version will be available at a later time.

Video link information:

  • Live stream: https://members.lcg.org/stream
  • No password required.
  • Note: The stream page will not be active until shortly before services on the Sabbath.

Phone call-in information:

  • Call-in: +1-415-655-0001 (U.S. toll number)
  • Connection access number: 2301 725 5867
  • For a list of call-in numbers for those who are outside the United States, please click on this link: Global call-in numbers.

We look forward to meeting virtually together!

Tomorrow’s World Presentations

Last week we held five presentations, drawing a total of 49 guests. The follow-up presentation in Greenville, North Carolina, was notable because it drew 20 guests, which is very good for a follow-up event. This week we will hold two presentations in South Carolina, two in New York, one in Pennsylvania, and one in California. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.

Report on the Brethren in Venezuela

Public order in Venezuela has been critically disrupted because of massive protests after the disputed election results of July 28. The countries that have recognized incumbent Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the elections include China, Russia, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Several other countries do not recognize his claim of victory and have demanded international expert verification of the electoral process. The near future of Venezuela is uncertain. If Mr. Maduro’s regime continues in power, another large wave of migrants, mainly young people who do not have a future in their own country, is expected to affect the entire American continent.

Our brethren are well, and they thank us for our concern for them and for the innocent people who are suffering. They ask for continued prayers, and that a feared fratricidal war among the population will not break out. The brethren in Venezuela plan to travel to Colombia to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles because the uncertain social order and economic instability will make it difficult to celebrate it in Venezuela.—Armando Orrego, Pastor of South American congregations

Minneapolis Family Weekend: Labor Day Weekend

The Minneapolis congregation is hosting a family weekend on Labor Day weekend. There will be a Bible Study Friday night, Sabbath services, a Saturday evening activity, and softball, picnic, and other activities on Sunday at Grandview Park in Hudson, Wisconsin. Please contact Mr. Matt Lyons (843-909-8890, [email protected]) to register or if you have any questions.

Feast of Tabernacles

Sermons for Those Unable to Attend the Feast in Person

Attention Pastors: Because some members, for legitimate reasons, are unable to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in person, the Church provides access to Feast sermons by various means.

Many Feast sites will offer livestream or telephone connections to those assigned to that site. This is the preferred option. Though not a substitute for being present at the site, these connections give access to live Feast services, including prayers and hymns.

Pre-recorded Feast sermons will also be available for brethren who are unable to attend in person and for whom the livestream or telephone connections are not feasible. The pre-recorded sermons will be published online (one per day) throughout the Feast:

Additionally, links to these pre-recorded Festival sermons will be emailed to the pastors ahead of the Feast. You can forward that email before the Feast to the members in your areas who are not attending in person.

We request that as many as are able access the Feast sermons by livestream or telephone from their assigned site, or view the pre-recorded sermons online. However, if there are brethren in your areas who cannot take advantage of these options, and need to receive physical sermon discs through the mail, please send us their names and addresses before the following deadlines:

  • The deadline for international requests for pre-recorded Festival sermon discs is September 28. For those in regions with slow postal service, please send in your requests now or as early as possible in order for the sermons to arrive before the Feast.
  • Requests for recipients in the U.S. must be received by October 10.
  • If possible, please do not wait until the deadline to send in your requests.

Feast Service Request: Pianist

The Feast site in Branson, Missouri, is in need of a pianist. If you are willing to transfer to Branson and serve by playing hymns, please contact the Festival Site Coordinator, Mr. Phil West, at [email protected].

Comments

What Does God Require? People often say, “I just want to do God’s will”—but what does God look for in us? God told Abraham to “walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1)—and Abraham was blessed for keeping God’s commandments (Genesis 26:5). Moses told the Israelites to love God and keep His commandments, and they would be blessed (Deuteronomy 10:12–13; 28:1–2). The prophets delivered the same message (Isaiah 66:2; Micah 6:8). Jesus told His disciples, “if you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). The commandments of God teach us how to love God and how to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:37–40). The Bible reveals that at the end of the age, God’s people will still “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17)—because this is what God requires. Obeying God is the path to blessings and a better way of life (Deuteronomy 28:1–2).

Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy—August 1, 2024

Are Germans Preparing for War? After Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, fear and unrest spread across Europe. A ground war on European soil conjured up memories of the past. Following the invasion, Germany’s Interior Minister stated that “Germany is to begin strengthening its bunker and basement infrastructure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” (The Independent, April 9, 2022). She also noted that “civil servants had been ordered to work up new concepts for strengthening underground car parks, railway stations and basements to act as possible sanctuaries in the case of conflict.” German states received €88 million for new air-raid sirens.

In June of this year, Germany’s “Federal Interior Ministry presented its state counterparts with a ‘status report on the development of a modern shelter concept’ for the German population” (Deutsche Welle, July 1, 2024). Three months earlier, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities had asked the federal government to invest €10 billion in the next ten years on civilian protection—including the request to revive 2,000 bunkers built during the Cold War, though some warn that such bunkers are no longer viable in an era when a hypersonic missile could reach Germany from Russia in just a few minutes. Business is booming for companies that build private panic rooms and bunkers.

Calls for restoring wartime bomb shelters on a national scale indicate that fear of war in Europe is real and growing. While the continent wrestles with the ominous unknown, Bible prophecy reveals real details about what is to come—yes, times of fear, but also an unprecedented time of lasting world peace that will follow. To learn more about what lies ahead, read or listen to Armageddon and Beyond.

Oxygen at the Bottom of the Ocean? The prevailing wisdom on the oxygenation of the ocean is that plants in the top layers of ocean waters produce oxygen through photosynthesis, just like plants on land. As ocean depths increase and light gives way to complete darkness, oxygen levels in seawater should theoretically decrease. However, a growing body of research suggests that “dark oxygen” is produced on the floor of some deep oceans—far too deep for sunlight to penetrate (New Scientist, July 22, 2024). Researchers have been surprised to find that in some areas of the ocean, oxygen levels actually increase as the depth of the ocean increases, which conflicts with established understanding. How does this happen?

Scientists have discovered oxygen in the presence of “nodules” on the ocean floor. These nodules are about the size of a potato and contain the elements cobalt, manganese, and nickel. These same industrial elements are used to make batteries. For this reason, some companies are looking to mine the nodules for their minerals. Oceanographers, however, have noticed that these nodules actually contain small amounts of electric potential. If clustered together, scientists hypothesize that enough electricity would be produced to split water into its components, releasing both hydrogen and oxygen—thus oxygenating the ocean floor. One researcher has nicknamed these small nodules “geobatteries.” What are the odds of finding on the ocean floor naturally occurring nodules that contain appropriate amounts of the elements needed to build a battery? And what are the odds of finding them in the presence of deep-sea oxygen that should not exist?

Darwinian evolution took the world by storm in the late 1800s because people were looking for an alternative reason for the existence of life. If an alternative could be found and the God of the Bible was not real, then the Bible could not be God’s inspired word and would not need to be followed. The problem is that Darwin’s theory is not only deeply flawed, but it cannot account for the complexity of earth’s ecosystems. Many scientific theories hinge on the mistaken idea that everything exists because of random chance. However, as more is learned about life and the planet, science continues to discover more evidence of intentional design by a highly intelligent being! To learn more about this fascinating subject, be sure to watch “Evolution on Trial.”—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater, and Annette Wright