Greetings from Charlotte,
I hope that all of you with Internet access have benefitted from our weekly member updates. Many members enthusiastically express their appreciation for these videos, which give additional insight into what is happening in the Work. This week, you will find information on a volcanic eruption in Costa Rica, where we have members—all safe, by the way—and on how testing different marketing approaches has helped us to get the Gospel message to a greater number of people. Testing different approaches has also moved more people along in the Bible Study Course. So, if you have not checked out these weekly video updates, we urge you to do so by going to Members.LCG.org and clicking on “Learn More” beneath the “Weekly Member Updates” banner.
—Gerald E. Weston
Church Administration
The Second Passover – Repeat Announcement
The Second Passover this year is on Monday, May 12, which means that it will be observed on Sunday evening, May 11, shortly after sunset. This Passover is for those baptized members who were unable to take the first Passover due to unavoidable circumstances, as instructed in Numbers 9:1–14. If you have any questions, please contact your pastor.
Living for Tomorrow 2025 – Blowing Rock, North Carolina – Repeat Announcement
This year’s L4T program at Blowing Rock will be conducted from May 23 to May 25. L4T is built for our adults aged 18–30 and is geared toward learning, fellowship, worship, and fun! The cost is $140 per person, which includes lodging, food, and inspiration. Arrival is on Friday afternoon, with dinner at 6:00 p.m., followed shortly by our first meeting at 7:30 p.m. Departure will be at noon on Sunday. If you’d like to be part of this program, just go to https://www.lcgeducation.org/l4t-blowingrock-2025/ and sign up! The deadline to register is May 9, so act soon!
Feast of Tabernacles
Feast Websites Now Live – Must Read
The 2025 Festival site webpages are now live! All LCG brethren and Feast guests can access the Feast site write-ups at https://fot2025.lcg.org.
Feast Registration May 4 – Must Read
The 2025 Feast of Tabernacles general registration is quickly approaching! General registration is scheduled for May 4 at 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time, USA) and can be accessed at https://fotreg.cogl.org. Please take the time to log in to your MyLCG account before then to make sure that you know your PIN and password. If you do not have Internet access and need help acquiring Feast information, please contact your local congregation’s Festival Advisor. If you don’t know who your Festival Advisor is, please contact your local Pastor.
Note to Festival Advisors: In preparation for Feast registration, please print the site descriptions and registration forms and distribute them to brethren in your area who need them. You can find these documents by going to https://fotreg.cogl.org, signing in using your PIN and MyLCG password, and clicking the “Advisor Access” link.
In Case of Festival Registration Problems, Status May Need to Be Updated
Attention Pastors: One of the most common technical difficulties members have in registering for the Feast occurs when their status has not been updated in the Headquarters database. For example, those listed as “Co-Worker” or “Subscriber” in the Headquarters database will not be able to register. Only those listed as “Prospective Member” or “Member” can register for the Feast. Please look over your area’s member lists and let us know if anyone’s status needs to be changed. This could especially apply to those who have recently begun attending. We need pastoral notification to change anyone’s status, so please send U.S. status updates to [email protected], or, if outside the U.S., to your Regional Office.
Living Youth Program
Adventure Camp 2025 – Voyageurs National Park (June 23–30)
The deadline to register for Adventure Camp this year is Sunday, May 11. There are still some spots available for those who want to experience the scenic boundary waters of Voyageurs National Park by canoe. If you have any questions about this trip, please visit https://camp.livingyouth.org or contact the camp director, Mr. Jonathan Bueno ([email protected]).
Comments
God Guides History: Today, many believe that the future is whatever human beings make it to be. However, the Bible reveals that God predicts the future and brings it to pass (Isaiah 46:9–11). Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that God removes kings and raises up kings and that He determines how and when specific events will occur (Daniel 2:21). Containing hundreds of specific prophecies recorded thousands of years ago, the Bible is a uniquely inspired book that has accurately predicted historical events—and events that are making news today. The prophet Amos stated that God reveals His intentions to His servants so they can alert the world about the real significance of what is coming (Amos 3:7). All of this is possible because God guides the course of history, and He instructs us to watch and understand the prophetic importance of current events (Matthew 24:42–44)—so we can be prepared for what lies ahead.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy – April 24, 2025
Sudan Is Crumbling: While the world focuses on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Sudan’s ongoing civil war continues to wreak destruction. Resistance forces have now attacked refugee camps in Sudan’s western Darfur region. “The consequences for Sudan’s 51 million people have been devastating. Tens of thousands are reportedly dead. Hundreds of thousands face famine. Almost 13 million people have been displaced, 4 million of those to neighbouring countries.” As one Oxfam manager observed, Sudan is “the largest humanitarian crisis, largest displacement crisis, largest hunger crisis… It’s breaking all sorts of wrong records.” Nearly half of Sudan’s population does not have enough food, and the war has devastated the nation’s infrastructure (The Guardian, April 15, 2025).
Sudan’s civil war goes back to 2019, when an army general combined forces with a tribal warlord to oust the country’s corrupt leader. Two years later, they combined forces again to overthrow the civilian administration set up to transition Sudan to a democratic government. As one might expect, it was not long before the forces of the two leaders began fighting each other.
The Apostle James asked and answered a profound question: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war” (James 4:1–2). As peoples and nations focus on self-centered desires instead of the righteousness of the God of the Bible, wars, fights, and their devastating consequences naturally follow. Sadly, wars will not cease until such leaders deny themselves and begin looking to God. But thankfully, this will happen in the not-too-distant future! To learn more, watch “The End of War.”
Haitian Gangs Grow More Powerful: Haiti’s government continues to struggle as gangs expand their territory and terrorize the country’s communities. Currently, gangs control at least 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city. In the central region of the country, a coalition of armed gangs burned a police station, took over a prison, and then released over 500 inmates. As law and order seem to have collapsed in the central region, critics claim that the provisional government has no plans for the future. Gang violence in Haiti has displaced over a million people, while some 1,500 have been killed. The international peacekeeping force, led by police from Kenya, seems to be making little progress. The Haitian government has just released over $275,000 in what it is calling a “war budget.” Realistically, however, this amount will accomplish very little (AP News, April 14, 2025). More than half of Haitians are expected to experience severe hunger by June (AP News, April 17, 2025).
As the world looks the other way, the situation in Haiti is deteriorating further. A growing number of world governments, it seems, are no longer looking out for their neighbor but are focused on themselves. The Apostle Paul warned regarding the “last days” that “men will be lovers of themselves” (2 Timothy 3:1–5). This is the opposite of God’s way, which focuses on serving others. As Jesus Christ noted regarding the reason He came to earth, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Soon, He will return and set up His Kingdom, which will reflect that character and operate on the way of give! To learn more, read or listen to “Choose to Give Your Life to Others.” —Scott Winnail, Chris Sookdeo, and Francine Prater