Greetings from Charlotte,
There was an all-staff luncheon on Wednesday for Headquarters personnel to get acquainted with the incoming Living Education students. Classes for the students begin on Monday and the students will be working in various departments, including custodial, landscaping, library, and media. It is now less than two months (seven weeks) until the Feast of Trumpets and soon after that will be the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. Events in our lives seem to take a long time in getting there, then all of a sudden there they are. It is important that we finalize plans for these Festivals that God gives to us as gifts that explain His master plan. Remember to keep the big picture in mind, as life in the flesh is less than an instant compared to the eternity God offers us.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week we held three initial presentations and three follow-ups that drew a total of 65 guests. This week we will hold five presentations: one online presentation for the Canadian subscriber base, two follow-ups in Alabama, and one in Nebraska. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Living Education
This was orientation week for the 2024–2025 Living Education–Charlotte students. We conducted a variety of classes, introduced faculty and Headquarters department heads, and reached keys for success… along with a bit of fun on a whitewater rafting trip. To see more of what our students experienced, go to our website, Facebook page, or follow us on Instagram by searching for “lcgeducation”!—Jonathan McNair
Feast of Tabernacles
Feast Site in Mexico Closed to Transfers
The Feast site in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, has reached capacity and is closed to further transfers. If you have any questions, please contact the Feast Site Coordinator, Mr. Cristian Orrego at [email protected].
Feast Sermons for Those Unable to Attend in Person—Repeat Announcement
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 posted online (one per day) throughout the Feast:
- English-language Feast sermons will be posted at https://members.lcg.org
- French-language Feast sermons will be posted at www.eglisedieuvivant.org
Additionally, links to these pre-recorded Festival sermons will be emailed to 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 would please 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.
Comments
Beware of False Teachers: Warnings about false teachers are found throughout the Bible. Jesus warned they will come in “sheep’s clothing” (smooth-talking, congenial, appearing spiritual), but are actually “ravenous wolves” seeking to divide and devour the flock of God (Matthew 7:15–19). As the end of the age approaches, Jesus warned that “many will come in My name” claiming to be representatives of Christ “and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:3–5). The Apostle Paul warned that these false teachers would be guided by a different spirit and preach a different gospel about a different Jesus, and are actually ministers of Satan masquerading as ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:4–15). Peter warned they will promote “destructive heresies” that deny the truth of Scripture—and that many will follow their erroneous teachings (2 Peter 2:1–3). Let’s remember these warnings and ask God for the discernment to recognize false teachers and their misguided ideas (2 Timothy 1:6–7)—because we will all be tested in this crucial area.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—August 15, 2024
Children Benefit from Time Outdoors: According the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology, children between the ages of eight and twelve spend on average four to six hours per day in front of screens (Washington Post, August 4, 2024), and teenagers spend up to nine hours a day in front of screens. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American spends 90 percent of his or her time indoors. However, children who spend time outdoors experience many positive benefits.
Multiple studies have suggested that spending time outdoors puts children into better moods and helps to make them more resilient, all while lowering their stress levels, reducing their anxiety, and decreasing levels of aggression. Another study published in the journal Educational Psychology Review found that children who engaged in nature had better working memories and paid better attention. And a 2022 study reported that “time outdoors can improve prosocial behaviors, including sharing, cooperating and comforting others.” Research also suggests that spending time in God’s creation can be particularly helpful to children with adverse upbringing—those who come from poverty, violence, or abuse.
In our busy world, it is often easier for parents to put a screen in front of their children to keep them occupied than it is to encourage them to play outside. However, as research increasingly demonstrates, screen time is not without its costs, and too much can harm children’s mental and emotional development, while time out-of-doors seems to bring real benefits. Raising children is a privilege and a responsibility that requires intentional and purposeful day-to-day choices. To learn more about positive approaches to child-rearing, read or listen to Successful Parenting: God’s Way.
Thousands of Toxic UK Landfills: A recent study in the British Medical Journal found there are over 21,000 historic landfills across Britain that contain unknown substances (The Guardian, June 28, 2024). For decades, the standard way to dispose of toxic chemicals was known as “dilute and disperse.” This meant that politicians and planners would take industrial and domestic waste, “stick it in a hole in the ground, cover it up and hope for the best.” According to the study, “80% of the British population lives within 2km of a functioning or closed landfill site.”
Many currently active and now-abandoned landfills are found in highly populated areas of the United Kingdom, and many of these sites leach “forever chemicals,” methane gas, and other banned chemicals into the environment. Methane gas exposure can “lead to mood changes, slurred speech, vision problems, memory loss, nausea, vomiting, facial flushing and headaches”—and even worse symptoms in some. Of particular concern are landfill sites located in floodplains and along ocean shores, where exposure to water will spread these dangerous poisons farther afield. Many toxic landfills have been converted to green spaces and parks because permits to build on top of these sites are not attainable.
The UK is not alone with its toxic landfills. Many nations around the world face this same problem, and the toxic effects of leeched chemicals are seen in humans, insects, and animals. While our modern civilization has given us many marvelous advances, we have also created dangerous poisons that will impact the environment and human life for decades to come. However, the Bible foretells that a time of refreshing and restoration is coming when Jesus Christ returns and begins resolving these deadly problems (Acts 3:19–21). To learn more about what is in store for our planet, read “Oceans in Trouble.”—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater