Living Church of God World Ahead Weekly Update

Final plans are coming together for the Feast of Tabernacles around the world. Please continue to pray that God will bless the weather so that favorable conditions will prevail during the Fall Festival season. This week, Mr. Meredith taped another Tomorrow’s World television program, “How to Overcome Satan,” offering the booklet Satan’s Counterfeit Christianity. Mr. Wallace Smith also taped two TW programs: #387 “Terror of the Tribulation,” offering the Armageddon and Beyond booklet, and #384, “Prophets and Pretenders,” offering the DVD 2012: Mystery and Truth. Mr. Smith’s program that aired last weekend, titled “2012, Bible Prophecy and You” is expected to draw more than 5,000 responses. Mr. Mario Hernandez has returned safely to Charlotte after a number of profitable visits in Mexico. Dr. and Mrs. Scott Winnail held a reception this week for our on-site Living University students and faculty. We had 69 visitors attend the Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations that I conducted last Saturday and Sunday in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee (see report below). This coming Saturday and Sunday, Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka will conduct two follow-up presentations titled, “Where Is God’s Church Today?” The combined impact of our media efforts and the Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations appear to be factors in the reports of congregational growth that we are receiving. Your prayers for the success of these efforts to preach the Gospel are much appreciated!

Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka reports: Dr. Douglas Winnail conducted TWSPs in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee last Saturday and Sunday. In Little Rock, 31 guests attended along with 105 members, for a total attendance of 136. In Memphis, 39 visitors came to the presentation in addition to 32 members. The brethren in each location provided delicious refreshments and valuable support services. All visitors received folders containing copies of the PowerPoint presentation, booklets and reprint articles. Many of the guests commented that the presentations were very helpful and informative, and they were impressed by the zeal and friendliness of the brethren. A number of guests indicated they plan to return for the follow-up presentation this coming weekend. We thank God for blessing these presentations, and we are excited to see the good fruit that He produces from these efforts to preach the Gospel.

Mr. Sheldon Monson will move to the Washington DC area where he will pastor congregations in Baltimore, Maryland; and Winchester, Virginia, and develop additional congregations. Mr. Monson is also teaching several classes for Living University. Mr. Ken Frank will remain in Fredericksburg, Virginia and continue to pastor congregations in Williamsburg, Virginia and Salisbury, Maryland. Mr. Frank will also begin teaching several classes for Living University in addition to his pastoral duties. Mr. Adam West will move from the Kansas City area, where he has been assisting Mr. Rand Millich, to pastor congregations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota that have been pastored by Mr. Sheldon Monson.

Mr. Kinnear Penman reports: Mr. Ames’ program, “You Can Understand Prophecy,” set a new response record for a program on Prime TV. We received 355 calls, e-mails and letters. Throughout the month [of August] response levels were very good and an average of 268 responses came in each week. Of these, an average of 104 were from first-time callers. Carolyn sent out a total of 1,228 mail items during the month. These contained 2,160 items of literature. Included in this total were 44 sets of Bible Study Course lessons. I made three pastoral trips during the month. The first was to Vanuatu, from August 4-11. I conducted Sabbath Services in Orap. The congregation there is doing well under Mr. Jerry Sam’s oversight. He and his wife, Colette, are fine examples to the members and have their respect and affection. The congregation is keenly anticipating the Feast of Tabernacles and will host a record nine visitors from New Zealand and the USA. I also visited a co-worker on Ifira Island whom I invited to attend the Feast in Orap. Carolyn and I made a trip to the South Island [New Zealand]; flying via Christchurch. I conducted the morning Sabbath service in Otautau, our southern-most congregation. In the afternoon I presented Class 3 of the Living Leadership Course.

Living University is currently in need of a part-time/adjunct instructor to teach an introductory speech communication class. The applicant should possess a Master’s degree in a speech communications field or a minimum of 18 graduate hours in speech communications plus a minimum of a Master’s degree in another field of study, and be a resident of the United States. This course is Internet-based and can be taught and maintained from any location where the Internet is available. For inquiries, to apply for the position, and for questions, please contact Dr. Scott Winnail by email at swinnail@livinguniv.com, or by phone at 704-708-2292.

Registration Numbers: With the Feast just under three weeks away, we currently have 4,633 brethren in the United States and Canada registered for the Feast. When other international areas are taken into account, we have 5,390 registered (not all international brethren are able to use the registration system). We want to thank all of our brethren for taking advantage of our online systems to register and prepare for the Feast. It helps the Festival Office and our Festival Coordinators greatly to know you are coming and be able to communicate with you online.

Last Great Day Plans: Every year at the Feast of Tabernacles, some few brethren leave the site before the end of the Feast to head for home, sometimes even missing afternoon services on the Last Great Day. Please remember that the Last Great Day—the eighth day of the Feast as commanded in Leviticus 23:36—is a holy convocation commanded by God. In the afternoon service on the Last Great Day, Dr. Meredith will be giving the entire Living Church of God (via recorded video) a special message of encouragement and admonition to send us on our way, after eight exhilarating days of rejoicing before God. Let’s make sure we all end the Feast on a high note by making our travel plans such that we are there until the last service is over!

Contact Information for Atonement Services and Sabbath Services on October 2: With everyone travelling to and from the Feast, some will need to know where Atonement services on September 18, 2010 and Sabbath services on October 2, 2010 will be conducted. We have posted a list on the MyLCG section of the www.cogl.org website, for your information.

The Value of Hope: Having hope in the future—something positive to look forward to—is a vital aspect of life. Many have long understood that life without hope is empty. The Bible states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). But what is the real hope in the life of a Christian? King David wrote, “You are my hope, O Lord GOD” and “I hope in Your word” (Psalm 71:5; 119:147). The Apostle Paul said under cross-examination before a Roman governor, “I have hope in God… believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets” including the promise of a resurrection and eternal life that he would receive at the return of Jesus Christ (Acts 24:14-15; Titus 1:2; 2:13). We are urged as Christians “to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18), to “purify ourselves” so we can become “children of God” (1 John 3:1-3) and be “ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Let’s all strive to be motivated by this same hope today!

Flooding and Devastation. So far this year, more than 230 million people have been affected by flooding in China—that is equal to two thirds of the U.S. population or nearly half of Europe’s population! Also, more than 3,000 people have died in the flooding, resulting in $50 billion dollars in damage. The August floods alone claimed nearly 1,500 lives (ChinaDaily.com, September 1, 2010). In Pakistan, August floods affected one fifth of the nation and more than 20 million people—equivalent to Australia’s population! Five thousand miles of roads and railway have been washed away, along with 7,000 schools and 400 health care centers. Rescue workers have been forced to destroy roads and railroads in order to divert flood waters away from towns and villages. So far, the damage has exceeded the total aid given to Pakistan for the past five years (New York Times-Global Edition, August 24, 2010). Bible prophecy specifically warns that various kinds of natural disasters will increase in frequency and intensity as the end of the age approaches (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8). The disastrous flooding in China and Pakistan certainly fits these prophecies. The U.S. and other nations have invested billions of dollars in Pakistan, only to see much of it literally washed away in the floods. These catastrophes may be one more way the U.S. and other Israelite-descended nations will be brought low–by giving their resources to help others in need. Sadly, the “god of this age”—Satan the devil—is angry and relishes the sufferings of human beings made in the image of God. God speed the day of Satan’s removal from the face of the earth (Revelation 20:1-3)!

A Perpetual Fire in the Holy Land. On the eve of peace talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders and President Obama, Hamas gunned down two men and two women (one pregnant) in a vehicle in the Gaza Strip. Three thousand people subsequently turned out to celebrate this tragedy as a “heroic operation.” For decades, U.S. presidents have tried to broker peace between Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land, only to find that peace fractured quickly afterwards. Hamas likely initiated this massacre in order to halt the peace talks in Washington, because they oppose the current Palestinian leader, Mr. Abbas. God warned that, in the last days, leaders would speak of “peace, peace,” but there would be no true peace (Jeremiah 8:11). The U.S. will boldly try for peace again, but the outcome will be the same. In addition, conflict between ethnic groups (or political factions) is prophesied to increase before the return of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:7). Finally, Jerusalem is predicted to be a “cup of trembling” to many (Zechariah 12:2, KJV). We need to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), a time when the flames of war will finally be extinguished when Jesus brings true and lasting peace to the Holy Land! Only then will peace truly come to Jerusalem and to the earth.

Terror in the Streets. “With three police officers killed in separate instances in two months, and calls from some Illinois lawmakers for the National Guard to patrol its most violent streets, Chicago once again finds itself under growing pressure to rein in crime.” Chicago is well on the way to meeting last year’s statistic of almost 500 murders—mostly gang-related. “Chicagoans were alarmed this summer after a series of murders, including the death of an 8-year-old girl who was shot by a stray bullet while skipping rope”—which suggests that streets are not even safe to play in (YahooNews.com, August 30, 2010). But is “more law enforcement” really the answer, or just a temporary fix? God warned ancient Israel—and hence the Israelite-descended nations—that because of its disobedience, “I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you…” (Leviticus 26:16). Later, God inspired Moses to write, “You shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life… because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see” (Deuteronomy 28:66-67). Today, many live in fear in our cities—fearing to walk or even to play. One day soon, Christ will return and usher in a time of peace, when people no longer oppress or “terrify” others (Psalm 10:18). God speed that day!—Scott Winnail