Living Church of God World Ahead Weekly Update

This has been a busy week here in Charlotte. Mr. Meredith held a number of meetings and is preparing for a trip to Kansas City. Mr. Pyle reports that Mr. Ames’ Tomorrow’s World television program last weekend entitled “Questions Evolution Cannot Answer,” advertising the booklet The Real God: Proofs and Promises, is expected to draw more than 4,100 responses. Also, last weekend’s Tomorrow’s World Special Presentation by Mr. Rod McNair in Asheville, North Carolina drew 15 visitors. The follow-up TWSPs in Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee by Mr. James Sweat drew a total of 63 visitors. Follow-up presentations in British Columbia, Canada by Mr. Norm Aitchison drew 15 visitors. This coming weekend, Mr. Meredith will present a TWSP in Kansas City and I will make presentations in Okemos, Michigan (near Lansing) and in Valparaiso, Indiana—your prayers for safe travels and profitable meetings are much appreciated. Please read or draw attention to the Comments section at the end of The World Ahead entitled “Be Prepared!”—DSW

Important Notice to All Pastors: This year the Passover Service will be observed on Sunday, April 17, a little less than four weeks from now. Let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays and/or wine trays or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Servicerecording. (Please note that this year we have a new recording of the Passover Service, given by Dr. Scott Winnail, available both in DVD and CD.)

Additionally, let us know of any scattered members who need to receive the Passover Service recording and letter instructions to observe it at home. Please direct your requests to Dorothy McNair at the Church Administration Department by e-mail at dmcnair@lcg.org or by phone at 704-844-1960, ext. 2248, as soon as possible to ensure timely delivery. Please note that a copy of the new Passover Service DVD and CD are being sent automatically to all Area Pastors.

Follow-up Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations in Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee, also yielded exciting attendance figures! The combined audience from both presentations was 128, including 65 members and 63 visitors—32 of which attended for the first time. Many indicated their desire to be present at Sabbath Services and asked for directions. It will be interesting to see how many laborers God will send into the Work of His harvest!—James Sweat

On March 14 and 15, a number of our ministers, wives and other enthusiastic local volunteers participated in a two-day, one-night program at Heifer International’s 1200 acre “ranch” facility outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Douglas Winnail and Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka coordinated the initiative with an eye on further enhancing the Church’s educational, youth development, and disaster-response initiatives. Heifer International is an organization dedicated to addressing core causes of hunger and poverty. It helps local communities help themselves to make improvements in nutrition and income, animal management, sustained agriculture, and education. At their large “ranch” facility, participants gain hands-on exposure to the problems and trials that millions of disadvantaged people around the world currently face. Heifer then teaches techniques in how these local communities can meet these challenges.

Mr. Rod McNair, one of the participants, commented, “I appreciated the chance to visit Heifer Ranch and take part in the Global Gateway overnight program. I have lived six years of my life in Thailand and the Philippines, and felt Heifer’s interactive program effectively brought home the reality of poverty that these and other countries face.” Mr. Marc Arseneault commented, “It is always fascinating to see how we take the blessing that we have for granted. Just a night spent living like so many men and women and children do every day is a sobering experience. To realize that you do not know what you will eat or drink for your next meal is something that is very unsettling.”

As the world rapidly approaches the time of Jacob’s trouble, we must prepare as best we can, while putting our faith and trust in God and His providence. And, we must be committed to helping and serving one another. Many of the principles that Heifer International is putting into practice are valuable lessons for Christians as well, for now and in the future. As Galatians 6:10 states, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”—Wyatt Ciesielka

The Charlotte, North Carolina congregation will be hosting the second annual Carolina Singles Weekend on Memorial Day Weekend 2011 (May 27-30). Activities are being planned, and we will have more details and registration information coming soon. So, plan now to join us in May for fellowshipping and learning—a great opportunity not to be missed. For more information, please contact Darren Brinson at darren.brinson@hotmail.com.

The Living Church of God congregations of North Florida and South Georgia would like to invite you to join us for the third annual North Florida Family Weekend held in Dowling Park, Florida, on the historic Swanee River. Plan to spend the Sabbath through the Last Day of Unleavened Bread with us in this millennial setting, with Mr. Davy Crockett as our guest minister. Our theme this year is “Building God’s Family,” and our focus will be on growing closer in love and unity. Events begin Friday evening, April 22 and continue through Monday, April 25. Activities include social mixer, hymn sing, Sabbath Services, leisurely canoe trip, a big fish fry, shared meals, Biblical seminars and ample opportunities to fellowship. Limited housing is available on-site, as well as with local brethren. Please visit www.LCGNorthFlorida.com (not an official Church website) for pricing and more information.—Joseph Brown

As of Thursday, March 24, 4,935 brethren in the United States, Canada, and other International areas have successfully registered for the Feast. We have continued to process transfer requests—many of you who were on the waiting lists should have already been notified. Again, Jamaica and Barbados are closed to further transfers. Santa Maria, CA is also closed to further transfers. We are still working on Chattanooga and Cobleskill to determine if we can accept more transfers—if you are on the waiting list for Chattanooga or Cobleskill, we will try to notify you as soon as possible about your status.

If you would like to view the status of your transfer request, simply log onto MyLCG and go into the registration system. You should be able to see the status of your registration. Notification e-mails are sent out automatically when you complete registration, when your transfer request is approved, or if your transfer request is denied. Regrettably, sometimes the e-mails are blocked by spam filters. If you have received no festival@lcg.org but you did successfully register, you might check the settings in your e-mail service to make sure that festival@lcg.org is an “allowed sender.”

The following are some corrections to the previous web write-up about Panama City. For those staying at Bay Point Marriott Resort, please note the following items (below) having to do with types of rooms and prices of rooms (this is also posted on the MyLCG website). We apologize for any confusion caused by the previously posted information.

“Run of the House Guestrooms ($99), Deluxe Guestrooms-Bayview ($119), Lanai-Bayview ($129). All guestrooms can be selected with two double beds or one king bed and include telephones with data-port and voicemail; high-speed Internet access; iron and ironing boards; hairdryers; refrigerators and coffee makers; color cable TV.

Be Prepared! We are living in an increasingly uncertain world today with unstable economies, job insecurity, dramatic weather changes, storms, floods, droughts, threats of earthquakes and terrorist activities. Because of our modern dependence on technology (electricity for cooking, heating and cooling, transportation and food delivery systems, community water supplies, etc.), all these events can bring serious disruptions to normal and necessary activities of daily life. The potential for disruption in the supply of basic necessities points to the need to plan ahead to meet unexpected emergencies. This is reflected in the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared! This same advice is found in the Scriptures. Solomon advised “Ponder the path of your feet”—think about where you are going and how you are going to get there (Proverbs 4:26). Solomon also observed “A prudent man foresees evil [danger] and hides himself [takes refuge], but the simple [naïve] pass on and are punished [face consequences]” (Proverbs 22:3; 27:12). God’s Church has long encouraged members to prepare for unexpected emergences—keep an extra supply of bottled water, a stock of non-perishable food items, extra vitamins, first aid supplies, extra batteries for flashlights and a battery-powered radio, some matches and candles, and a camp cooking stove or heating device—things that may be needed if normal public services are disrupted. While God’s people will look to God for their ultimate protection, we also need to do our part to be prepared!

America’s Foreign Creditors. A recent article highlighted how much of the U.S. debt is held by foreign creditors (approximately 30%). China and Japan combined hold about 40% of the foreign-owned debt. Other creditors include the UK, Russia, Canada, Hong Kong, and many oil-exporting nations in the Middle East. The article ended with the question: “Obviously, these creditors won’t actually take states from us as payment on our debts, but it’s fun to imagine what states and national monuments they could assert a claim to.” The article then goes on—in a joking way—to discuss the debt owed to different creditors and which states and national monuments could possibly be used for repayment (finance.yahoo.com, February 28, 2011). Although much of the article is written in a humorous tone, it is a sobering reminder of the crumbling state of affairs in America and other Israelite nations today. However, Bible prophecies warn that when God’s people turn away from Him, foreign nations [the alien] will “lend to you…he shall be the head, and you [the Israelite nations] shall be the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:43-44). The prophet Jeremiah mourned for his nation in words that have prophetic implications for Israelite nations today, “Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, and our houses to foreigners… The crown has fallen from our head…” (Lamentations 5:2, 16). This article may be more accurate than the author intended.

Financial Terrorism. An unclassified 2009 report produced by a U.S. government contractor concluded that the 2008 economic crash may have been perpetrated in part by international financial terrorists. The report, entitled: “Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses,” noted that both China and Russia have suggested financial terrorism against the U.S. in the past. The report’s author noted: “The new battle space is the economy… We spend hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons systems each year. But a relatively small amount of money focused against our financial markets through leveraged derivatives or cyber efforts can result in trillions of dollars in losses. And, the perpetrators can remain undiscovered.” Some experts dispute the study findings noting that there is no specific evidence of financial terrorism, while the report soberly noted: “This is the ‘end game’ if the goal is to destroy America…” (The Washington Times, February 28, 2011). Whether the U.S. and world financial melt-down of 2008 was perpetrated by financial terrorists will remain to be seen. However that possibility appears to be real. God warned the Israelite nations that because of their disobedience, “I will even appoint terror over you” (Leviticus 26:16). He also notes, “I will break the pride of your power…” (v. 19). Money and wealth have been the pride of nations and people for millennia. What better way to bring modern nations down than to attack their financial infrastructure?

Minister Chastised for Preaching Against Hell. Evangelical pastor Rob Bell has been called a “rock star pastor” by many. In his new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell suggests that most non-Christians will not burn in an everlasting hell fire and that the Bible does not support such a concept. Predictably, Bell’s book attracts “fire-and-brimstone” condemnation from the Christian establishment. But not all his peers condemn his writing. The president of Fuller Theological Seminary commented, “There are stingy people who just want to consign many others to hell and only a few to heaven and take delight in the idea. But Bob Bell allows for a lot of mystery in how Jesus reaches people” (USA Today, March 14, 2011, 13B). God’s Church understands there is a mystery in God’s truth (1 Corinthians 2:7; 15:51). All humans who have ever lived and not known God’s truth will be resurrected at a later time (known as the Great White Throne Judgment period) and have a chance to learn and choose God’s way of life (Ezekiel 37, John 5:28-29, Revelation 20:11-13). For more information on this important topic, please read our free booklet, Is This the Only Day of Salvation?—John Wheeler, Mark Smith, Scott Winnail

COGwriter 2011

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