Weekly Update

November 14th, 2024

Greetings from Charlotte,

Members of the Living Church of God Council of Elders met for three days of meetings this week. Many topics were covered, but there was much discussion on how we can reach a broader audience. We are probably reaching more people than is evident from those who respond by requesting literature, but we recognize that we are only reaching very small segments of the populations in the countries where we have a presence—and that there are more than 8 billion people on earth today. Please beseech God to open doors for us to reach a far greater audience than we currently are reaching. We also discussed how the world’s culture is more pervasive than most realize. This is also something to pray about—ask God to help you see how worldly culture is affecting you. However, overall, the mood among our leaders is positive. We realize that our members are supportive of the Work being done and we thank you greatly for that support.—Gerald Weston

Church Administration

Tomorrow’s World Presentations

Last week, we held five Tomorrow’s World Presentations that drew a total of 35 in-person guests and an estimated 78 online guests. So far this year, we have held a total of 191 TWPs. These events have drawn a total of 2,037 guests. As the pace of the TWPs slows for this calendar year, please pray that the presentations continue to bear fruit as God works with those who have been impacted by them.

Regional Winter Weekend Activities

Get ready for this winter’s Family Weekends! As in previous years, a number of areas plan to host overnight Family Weekends during the coming months. These are not intended to be huge gatherings, but rather local events where brethren from surrounding congregations can come together to learn, grow, and fellowship in the midwinter months.

The following congregations have Family Weekends planned:

We encourage you to attend your own region’s winter Family Weekend; however, there may be a few reasons to attend another region’s Family Weekend—for example, your congregation may not be associated with a region’s Family Weekend, or you may have family you wish to visit in another region. If you do plan to attend a Family Weekend outside of your area, please contact the organizing pastor for details.

Charlotte Family Weekend­—December 20–22

The Charlotte congregation will again host the Charlotte Family Weekend from Friday, December 20 through Sunday, December 22. The weekend will begin with a Bible Study on Friday evening. On Saturday, there will be seminars before services, with an evening meal and a dance to follow. Family activities, games, and volleyball will be held on Sunday, as well as the always-popular arts-and-crafts sale and silent auction of baked goods.

Comments

Respect for Authority: Today we live in a global society where respect for anyone in authority is in serious decline. Parents, teachers, politicians, police, and church leaders are often the subject of vile ridicule. While some cynicism and loss of respect may be merited, few today realize that this anti-authority attitude is promoted by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) and will reach a climax at the end of the age (2 Timothy 3:1–5). However, God expects His followers to be different. Solomon advised, “Do not curse the king, even in your thought” (Ecclesiastes 10:20). James warned, “Do not speak evil of one another” (James 4:11). Jesus taught us to pray for those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:44–48), and the Apostle Paul advised, “See that no one renders evil for evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). Paul even urged Christians to pray for “all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2) and not go along with critics who mock those in authority. We need to make sure our attitudes align with the Scriptures and not our increasingly disrespectful societies.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy – November 14, 2024

AI Is Swallowing Up Electricity: As world leaders push the Green Agenda, the growing elephant in the room is artificial intelligence (AI). What few realize is that AI systems require gigantic computer warehouses that consume massive amounts of electricity—and power generators and their associated infrastructure can’t be built overnight.

According to a recent report, AI demand could strain the U.S. electrical grid in the coming decade (CNBC, August 28, 2024). In fact, data centers in the United States alone could consume as much power by 2030 as some industrialized national economies. These computer warehouses could require up to 400 terawatt hours of electricity by the end of this decade—more than the total electricity production of the United Kingdom in 2022. Recently, Larry Ellison, the chairman and co-founder of Oracle and one of the world’s richest men, said that he is planning a data center that will require over one gigawatt of power to run (CNBC, September 10, 2024)—equivalent to the energy consumption of a medium-sized city. Ellison claimed he will power this data center by building three small modular nuclear reactors, commenting, “This is how crazy it’s getting.”

The potential of AI to disrupt aging power grids only increases society’s vulnerability to risks such as a terrorist attack on a large computer warehouse or its energy sources. Meanwhile, the Bible warns Israelite-descended nations of coming large-scale punishments, including the destruction of their cities, for rejecting God and His laws (Leviticus 26:31–33). As the U.S, the UK, and other nations descended from ancient tribes of Israel become more dependent on sophisticated technology, if a rogue actor or adversarial nation succeeds in shutting off their power, even their largest cities may grind to a halt, leaving normally busy highways suddenly deserted (v. 22). Many Western societies appear to be increasingly vulnerable to the fulfillment of many end-time Bible prophecies. To learn more about what the future holds, be sure to read or listen to Prophecy Fulfilled: God’s Hand in World Affairs.

More Support for Noah’s Ark: MSN reports that scientists at the British Museum have deciphered a cuneiform tablet found nearly 150 years ago that apparently dates back 3,000 years (October 29, 2024). The stone tablet has writing on both sides, and the back contains a crude map and directions. “Researchers followed the instructions, finding a path to ‘Urartu’ where an ancient Mesopotamian poem claims a man and his family landed an ark to preserve life,” according to MSN. “The location is the Assyrian equivalent to ‘Ararat,’ the Hebrew word for the mountain [on which] Noah crashed the Biblical vessel that was constructed for the same purpose.”

In an interview, the British Museum’s curator pointed out that, because the biblical account and the story on the tablet are so similar, the account was likely widely known 3,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The map tells readers that if one continues to follow the path of the map, one will eventually come upon a giant vessel. While the Babylonian account of the flood does differ from that of the Bible, the two are quite similar.

Many critics disparage the Bible for making exotic claims that seem unsupportable. Yet, over time, evidence continues to emerge to corroborate the Bible’s narrative. The recently deciphered tablet in the British Museum may not restate the biblical account verbatim, but it does demonstrate that the tale of an ark used to save people and animals from a great flood was well-known three millennia ago. This certainly lends further credibility to the biblical narrative. To learn more about the validity of the Bible, be sure to read or listen to The Bible: Fact or Fiction?—Scott Winnail, Craig Marley, and Francine Prater