8/24/06

Greetings from Charlotte, 

This has been a productive week.  Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames recorded four Tomorrow’s World programs for the new TV season on the upgraded studio set.  The Editorial Department is hard at work doing final edits on the next issue of The Living Church News.  We are looking forward to a visit in Charlotte by Mr. and Mrs. Rod King next week.  While in Charlotte, Mr. King will record several TV programs for the new season. 

IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION 

To All Ministers Preaching on the Last Great Day—Please Take Note 

Mr. Meredith is asking all ministers who will be giving the sermon on the Last Great Day to cover and expound the deep meaning of that specific Holy Day. In his own recorded Last Great Day message, Mr. Meredith will not expound the specifics of that Feast.   

MEDIA 

This week Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames taped the following Tomorrow’s World television programs: 

Presenter        Title                                                    Offers                                                 Airs      

#283       RCM     Christ’s Coming Government                    Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return       Nov 19

#284       RFA       Thanksgiving and Our National Purpose       Restoring Apostolic Christianity Nov 26 

#285       RCM     Victory in the Middle East                           The Middle East in Prophecy                     Dec 3

#286       RFA       The Day of the Lord                                     The Day of The Lord, CD                           Dec 10 

Mr. Wayne Pyle reports: After jumping through a whole lot of hoops, as it were, we began airing in Salt Lake City on Comcast Cable’s channel 95 at 6:30 a.m. last Thursday, August 17. This channel reaches 300,000 households. And we began airing during prime time last Saturday night, August 19, at 9:30 p.m. on channel 21 in Orlando, Florida, which reaches 405,000 households. This station has good potential for us.  

Last week we received the go-ahead to begin airing on two new commercial TV stations. One is WPAN-TV in Pensacola, Florida, which is scheduled to begin Monday evening, August 28, during prime time at 8:00 p.m. The station reaches 500,000 households. The manager of the TV station loves the Tomorrow’s World program and plans to give the Church extra airings for free. The other station is a cable network in the Los Angeles area, which will air Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m., but the start date has yet to be determined. The station airs on channel 101 on the Comcast Cable system and has 347,000 subscribers.  

FEAST OF TABERNACLES 

Canmore, Alberta 

Special Music and Talent Evening. Those who plan to observe the Feast of Tabernacles in Canmore, Alberta, and who are experienced at performing Special Music, should contact Mr. Stuart Wachowicz (e-mail swachowicz@cogl.org; phone 780-466-1815). When responding please indicate the name of the musical piece, the type of instrument to be played or, in the case of a song, what accompaniment would be required. If possible, a tape of the piece being performed would be appreciated. There will also be a dinner and talent evening where brethren are invited to perform musical numbers, skits, comedy sketches and other types of entertainment suitable to help God’s people righteously rejoice at the Feast. Those interested in performing should contact Mr. Wachowicz as well. 

Family Day. There will also be a family day activity in Canmore which will consist of a picnic for all ages. Suitable outdoor games for all ages are needed, so please remember to bring your freesbe, soccer ball, football, etc.  

Children’s Choir. Finally, parents whose children would like to be in the children’s choir should contact Mrs. Gail Aitchison for music at 604-539-5459 or, by e-mail, at ngaitch@telus.net.  

Oxnard, California 

Teen/Young Singles Cruise. An accurate count and payment is required by Cruise Line Operators in advance.  Those interested in attending this activity should send their name and payment (check or money order made payable to Robert Gomperts) by September 18 to Robert Gomperts, 6460 Convoy Ct #316, San Diego, CA 92117. Further details can be obtained from Mr. Gomperts at 858-565-6460 or, by e-mail, at rgomp@sbcglobal.net.  

Copper Mountain, Colorado  

Sound Equipment Volunteers. We are in need of volunteers to operate the sound equipment at the Copper Mountain Feast Site.  The sound equipment is being provided by the convention center and we will need people who are experienced in operating it.  If you would like to volunteer to serve by running the sound equipment, please email Mr. Ben Whitfield bhwhit@coffey.com or Mr. Charles Ogwyn cogwyn@cogl.org.  

New Braunfels, Texas 

Children’s and Teen Choirs. Mrs. Linda Beal will be organizing the children’s choir in New Braunfels this year. Parents of children ages 12 or under and interested in performing in the children’s choir should contact Mrs. Beal at 417-451-7998 or, by e-mail, at beallinda@yahoo.com. A teen choir to perform special music is also being organized. If you are age 13 through 18, can sing, and would like to participate, please contact Mrs. Teresa Fischer by e-mail at singingwinds@hughes.net or, by phone, at 919-742-3234. 

LEGAL DEPARTMENT—for USA only 

Conscientious Objector Status. As world events worsen, the U.S. military will be hard-pressed to provide the personnel needed to deal with additional military commitments. The National Guard and Reserves are falling behind in recruitment goals because of long deployments. This week, the U.S. Marine Corps received authorization to recall thousands of inactive Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. A widening of the Middle East conflict may require America to return to the practice of drafting its younger citizens to fill the ranks of the military. This time, women may be included in the draft.

For several years, the Church has been encouraging its older teens and young men and women to register their conscientious objection to war and military service. Pastors and elders should be counseling the youth in their areas about the need to consider their commitment to God, His laws and His Church. It is much more difficult to prove a conscientious objection claim after a draft has been instituted, if an individual has not previously gone on record as holding a religious belief against serving in the armed forces.

To request an information packet and forms, an interested young person should contact Legal Affairs here at Headquarters by e-mail at legal@lcg.org or by phone at 704-844-1960, ext. 228. Time is of the essence; delaying may cause untold grief later to those who do not take action now. 

COMMENTS 

It’s a Matter of Heart.  The Bible reveals that God looks on the heart (I Samuel 16:7) and that David was chosen to be king because God saw that David was “a man after My [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22).  But what exactly did God see in David’s heart?  God saw that David was a man “who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22), who “loved” God’s law and meditated on it daily (Psalm 119: 97), who did not argue with the Scriptures, but wanted to understand and live by the laws of God (Psalm 119: 18, 27, 105), who praised God with his whole heart (Psalm 111:1) and who repented wholeheartedly when he was wrong (Psalm 51).  We need to remember that God is testing our hearts (Psalm 7:9).  Let’s make sure our thoughts, words and actions reflect what God is looking for—which is one of the most important lessons in life (Proverbs 4:23)   

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail 

NEWS AND PROPHECY—August 24, 2006 

Islamism Trumps Arabism.  Reports from the Middle East indicate, “Hezbollah’s war with Israel has fed the growth of political Islam in Egypt and other Arab states” (The New York Times, August 20, 2006).  One Egyptian woman stated, “I have more faith in Islam than in my state; I have more faith in Allah than in Hosni Mubarak” (Ibid).  The “perceived triumph” of Hezbollah in Lebanon has produced a wave of pro-Islamic euphoria that is sweeping over the Middle East, where political Islam is seen as “the antidote to the failures of Arab nationalism, Communism, socialism and… the false promise of American-style democracy” (Ibid).  One Jordanian scholar observed, “The secular resistance movements are gone.  Now there are the Islamists coming in… the new nationalism is going to be religious nationalism, and one of the main reasons is dignity.  People want their dignity back… the losers are going to be the Arab regimes, U.S.A. and Israel” (Ibid).  The cry of “Islam is the solution” is voiced by zealous followers who want to export their religious ideas to other parts of the world—by violence if necessary.  This will be a growing threat to the secular and nominally Christian cultures of Europe and America (see Daniel 11: 40).  

Global Water Shortages Growing.  “More than two billion people already live in regions facing a scarcity of water, and unless the world changes its ways over the next 50 years, the amount of water needed for a rapidly growing population will double,” says researcher David Molden of the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka (New York Times, August 22, 2006).  Molden states, “we have to learn how to grow more food with less water” because land dependent on irrigation cannot be used to grow more food if we run out of water.  In China, a crop-withering drought has led to trucking water and rationing with up to 17 million people limited to two buckets per day.  The drought has caused produce prices to jump by 50 percent (Associated Press, August 16, 2006).  The Bible reveals that God controls the fate of nations and uses the weather to curse those who violate the natural laws that govern the environment.  Long ago, God warned, “if you do not obey Me [and My laws], then I will punish you seven times more for your sins… I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze” (Leviticus 26:18-19).            

MRSA Infections Spreading.  Ten years ago, staphylococcus aureus germs (MRSA) were rarely seen outside of hospitals and nursing homes.  Now, more than half of the skin infections treated in the U.S. emergency rooms are caused by this super-bug.  Many victims mistakenly think they just have spider bites that won’t heal, instead of a drug-resistant staph infection.  Doctors are being urged to assume any skin infection is MRSA, until tests prove otherwise.  The most common way to acquire this infection is through an open wound or by something that punctures the skin or a hospital tube inserted into the body.  MRSA bacteria can be spread by skin contact or by sharing items such as towels or needles.  Tattooing [which the Scriptures advise against—Leviticus 19:28] has been linked to MRSA infections (Associated Press, August 16, 2006).  MRSA is just one more of the curses that God said would strike backsliding nations, “Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed” (Deuteronomy 28:61).—Don Davis, Douglas Winnail