07/19/07
Greetings from Charlotte,
The Living Youth Camp began this week in northern Michigan with 86 campers and 81 high school and adult staff. Some had a few difficulties with air travel, but all arrived safely. The weather conditions at the camp are beautiful. Mr. Rod King reports that 18 subscribers came to the first Living Church of God Public Lecture in the UK that was held in Manchester last weekend. We had 65 elders, deacons, Headquarters office staff, and other leaders and their wives, in attendance at the Regional Conference held here in Charlotte last Sunday. This week we invited several individuals to Charlotte to interview for positions in the TV department. Mr. Meredith finished a new co-worker letter that was mailed this week. We appreciate your prayers and support for the income of the Work—which is currently running ahead of budget.
Important Announcement: Mr. Meredith’s sermon (DVE/CDE 439) titled “Fasting: A Powerful Tool,” was sent this week to all English-speaking congregations. It must be played at services in all congregations on the Sabbath of August 4, the Sabbath of the Church-wide fast.
Human Resources
Repeat Announcement
Employment Opportunity. Please review the following job description. If there are any candidates in your Church areas who might fulfill the requirements for the Internet Operations Department, please encourage them to send a résumé to Suzanne Pyle in the Human Resources Department.
Assistant Webmaster in the Internet Operations Department. Responsibilities will include interacting with Linux servers via a GUI and the command line as well as working, to varying degrees, with PERL, shell scripting, HTML, JavaScript, MySQL, PHP, and C. The right candidates will exhibit a desire to further develop their programming skills.
If you are interested in this position, please submit a résumé to:
Living Church of God
Human Resources Department, Attn: Suzanne Pyle
PO Box 3810, Charlotte, NC 28227
FAX: 704-844-1973; Email: spyle@lcg.org
Church Administration
Mr. Joe Brown has been hired to become the Assistant Pastor in the Thomasville, Georgia; Pensacola, Florida; and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, congregations. Mr. Brown has been serving as an elder in the Thomasville, Georgia, congregation where he and his wife, Jeanette, have been attending.
Mr. Roland Travis, an elder serving in the Columbia, Missouri, congregation suffered a heart attack this week. However, according to the latest reports we received, he is now doing much better.
Mr. Rand Millich, Regional Pastor living in the Kansas City area is feeling fine and is making excellent progress. In a conversation with Mr. Apartian, he said, “I am feeling great, really great! Ready to go back to work full speed.” It was refreshing to hear him so positive and encouraged.
Children’s Bible Lessons Recommendations (To All Pastors)
We would like to solicit your ideas regarding children’s Bible programs. If you have a local program of children’s Bible lessons you have found to be successful and beneficial, please send samples of lessons and/or outlines to Mr. Rod McNair at rmcnair@lcg.org.
Feast of Tabernacles 2007
Oxnard, California
Special Music and Piano Accompaniment. The Oxnard Feast site is in need of volunteers for special music, piano accompaniments, the children’s choir and the adult choir. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Mr. Chris Connelly by e-mail at Chris_Connelly@email.msn.com (there is an underscore “_” between Chris and Connelly) or by telephone at 909-389-9522 with the information appropriate to your area of interest. Please feel free to leave voice mail.
Family Night Fun Show. Volunteers are also needed as performers and/or as stage crew assistants. You will experience an evening you will not forget. To volunteer for the Fun Show, please contact Patti Forsness at littlenut@myexcel.com or by telephone at 406-442-4137.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Children’s Choir. We are planning to have a children’s choir at the Myrtle Beach Feast site this year. Parents whose children desire to sing in the choir should contact Mrs. Laura Bashus at bashus@cox.net or at 402-733-8585. Be sure to let Mrs. Bashus know how many children will be participating and their ages. She will then send you the music and practice information.—Scott Winnail
Sierra de la Ventana, Argentina
Online Registration. If you have been approved to transfer to the Feast in Argentina, but have not been able to register online, please contact Madeleine at mlincoln@lcg.org or by calling 704-844-1960, ext. 217
Comments
Working Together: Jesus referred to His disciples as His “friends” and encouraged them to “love one another” (John 15:12-17). The Apostle Paul referred to those who assisted him in his ministry as “my fellow workers” (Romans 16:3) and “fellow workers for the kingdom of God” (Colossians 4:11). He referred to members of God’s Church as “God’s fellow workers” (I Corinthians 3:9) and “workers together [co-workers] with Him” (II Corinthians 6:1). That is an exciting opportunity, which carries a responsibility. The Scriptures provide important guidelines about how to work together. We are instructed to “be perfectly joined together in the same mind” and not let contentions divide us (I Corinthians 1:10-13). We are also advised to get along and live in harmony, to avoid being haughty and conceited or ambitious for a position, but to be humble and do what is right—to live and work together peacefully (Romans 12:16-18). If we can learn to “love one another” and treat each other as “friends” we will be more effective “fellow workers for the kingdom of God.”
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—July 19, 2007
Challenges Threaten Israel’s Existence. Canada’s former justice minister, Irwin Cotler, attending the Conference on the Future of the Jewish People, observed that Jews now face a “gathering storm” of threats (Canada West News, July 10, 2007). Cotler told 120 international delegates gathered in Jerusalem that “radical Islam threatens international peace,” and that Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Hamas, various international terrorist groups and Iran pose dangers to moderate Muslims as well as Jews, creating a tense environment unmatched since the 1930s. Now, however, “there is a Jewish state as an antidote to Jewish vulnerability,” Cotler noted. “It can count on allies such as Canada and the U.S.” The Scriptures reveal that Israelite nations and the Jews will stand and fall together in the coming years. “For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, and they do not know the LORD. The pride of Israel testifies to his face; therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them” (Hosea 5:4-5). This unique relationship and alliance is explained in detail in our booklets The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy and The Middle East in Prophecy.
Witches in Norway. Last month, witches from around the world gathered for a three-day conference in Vardo, Norway. The meeting, sponsored by Scandinavian and American universities, involved lectures, discussions and videos. A major focus of the meeting was on Shamanism, the ancient practice of communicating with the dead, mostly through animal spirits (UPI, June 29, 2007). God long ago condemned the use of witchcraft, sorcery and communing with the dead (Leviticus 20:6; Galatians 5:20), yet mankind has continued and even glorified these practices. Why does God hate witchcraft and outline punishment for those engaging in such activities? Because it is in direct violation of the first commandment—it replaces God with other gods—earth, wind, fire, animal spirits, etc. Because of these and other sinful behaviors, God warns that He will punish the Israelite-descended peoples (Leviticus 26)—that is, unless they repent (Jeremiah 18:8-11). This is why we must preach the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God, including the need for repentance from sins (Ezekiel 3, 33; Acts 2:38).
Alabama Prays for Rain! Severe drought in this southern U.S. state prompted Governor Bob Riley to issue a proclamation asking Alabamians to join together for a week of concentrated prayer to God, from June 30 through July 7 (USA Today, July 2, 2007). Riley’s proclamation declared: “Throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady in times of difficulty. This drought is without question a time of great difficulty for our farmers and for communities across our state.” The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Drought Monitor now gives north Alabama its most severe classification, “exceptional drought.” Southwest Alabama is labeled as experiencing “severe drought” and the Gulf Coast area is shown to be in a “moderate drought.” A statewide burn ban restricts all outdoor flames in Alabama. Though some have welcomed the governor’s proclamation, the former president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin, called it “just a waste of time. A governor should have respect for the separation of church and state.” The Bible reveals the reasons for these weather-related abnormalities: “you have polluted the land with your harlotries and your wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; you refuse to be ashamed” (Jeremiah 3:2-3). Yet even while Alabama is in a severe drought, too much rain in Texas has caused disastrous flooding!—Don Davis, Scott Winnail
COGwriter 2007