The two Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations held in Winnipeg, Manitoba last week drew an attendance of 59 subscribers—and four of them attended services the following Sabbath! This week at Headquarters, Dr. Roderick Meredith recorded his Last Great Day 2010 message to be sent to our 45 Feast sites around the world. This week also, we mailed brochures for TWSPs in Thomasville, Georgia, and Lake City, Florida, scheduled for the end of July. Fifty-five presentations have been held so far this year, with more than 2,160 unique subscribers in attendance! (Your prayers for Dr. Meredith’s successful presentation in Dallas, Texas, on July 10 and Mr. Ames’ in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on July 11 are much appreciated). Meanwhile, Dr. Douglas Winnail and Mr. Charles Ogwyn have been in Europe to lead an Internet Conference. Dr. Winnail wrote yesterday from England, “The trip to Belgium for the Internet Conference went very well.  Mr. Ogwyn and I were able to spend the Sabbath with brethren in the Charleroi congregation and visitors who had come for the weekend. I was also able to conduct a session from the Advanced Leadership Training Program. On Sunday, we had very profitable discussions with the directors of the foreign language websites and also a Board Meeting with the members of the Belgium corporation. On Monday, we were able to tour the battlefield at Waterloo and make a short visit to Aachen, Germany—the site of Charlemagne’s palace—before flying to London to visit Mr. Rod King and the office here in the UK.” Dr. Winnail and Mr. Ogwyn have safely arrived in Charlotte this afternoon. Thank you for your prayers for their travels.

 

 

 

 

Mr. Phil Sena reports: I have heard from all of our brethren in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas that they are well, and have suffered no power outages nor property damage as a result of Hurricane Alex. One member reports that his phone service was knocked out, but that’s all. Thanks to everyone who prayed for their safety.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Fitzroy Greeman visited our brethren in Barbados from May 28 to June 1. As they were clearing Customs and Immigration at the Barbados airport on May 28, Mr. Greeman reports that, “the Officer who did the final examination noticed that I declared on thefForm that I was a Religious Minister. He asked which religion. Upon hearing that we were from the Living Church of God, he engaged us in a lengthy conversation. He had been reading literature from the time of Mr. Herbert Armstrong and is now receiving the Tomorrow’s World Magazine. He is convinced that this is the true Church, and he is considering making a commitment.”

 

 

Mr. Adrian Kaefer reports that from January through June 2010, our German website, www.weltvonmorgen.org, had 30,950 identified visitors (1.6% more than the last six months of 2009). A total of 2,444 booklets, 15,763 articles and 1,802 Bible Study Course lessons were downloaded. In addition, 204 booklets, 388 articles and 72 Bible Study Course lessons were sent by mail. Mr. Kaefer writes, “We missed about 4,500 [website] visitors in June 2010, who could not be counted due to a problem with the statistics program. Still, the overall year-to-date increase of literature distribution is 26.1% (it would have been about +35%)” than the previous six months.

 

 

 

Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka reports: On June 27, the Little Rock Spokesmen Club concluded its 2009-2010 Club year by hosting a “Ladies Luncheon.”  Fifty Club members and special guests enjoyed a mentally invigorating topics session and a truly superb speaking session.  The theme was “An Italian Countryside Picnic” and the men decorated the hall accordingly, with Italian tablecloths and many beautiful potted flowers.  Lunch was provided by a local Italian restaurant and the men provided outstanding desserts and sparkling juice.  The ladies were presented with corsages and were given the potted flowers to take home as a show of appreciation.  True Christian fellowship and fun was enjoyed by all and we look forward to next year’s Club. 

 

 

 

The New Orleans Living Church of God congregation invites you to its Memorial Day 2011 Family Weekend from May 27 through May 29, 2011, “The Big Easy Classic 2011,” to remember our national blessings, history and culture. Activities will include a Christian Boot Camp on Friday, May 27; Sabbath services on May 28 followed by a dinner-dance that evening; a visit to The National WWII Museum on Sunday, May 29. The cost for the weekend, including all activities is $60 per person. The location will be the Hilton New Orleans Airport hotel (discounted room rates have been negotiated for LCG members). Additional optional activities on Sunday include a Steamboat Natchez Riverboat Cruise, visits to the Aquarium of the Americas and the Audubon Zoo & Insectarium, and much more (entrance fees for these optional visits are not included in the $60 weekend cost). If you are interested in attending the New Orleans family weekend, we ask that you please contact Mr. Juan Jackson at futureentertain@gmail.com or by phone at 504-470-9560 by July 25, 2010, to determine if there is enough interest in this event to proceed with securing the venue. For additional details on the weekend, such as hotel room rates and detailed descriptions of the activities, also contact Mr. Jackson.

 

 

Registration for Living University courses is now underway for the Fall semester. Each week as we approach the start of classes, we plan to highlight for your benefit a couple of LU courses. This week we will highlight THL 200 and THL 211. To register and for more information, go online to www.livinguniv.com or call Dr. Scott Winnail at 704-708-2292, email: swinnail@livinguniv.com

 

 

This course covers the purpose for human life; human nature; values, morality, and ethics; marriage and family, and career. Topics include values, beliefs, and mores; interpersonal communication, dating, courtship, marriage, and children. The course is designed for all adult age groups and is applicable to all. For younger students, it will give you direction and guidance in these areas. For those involved in counseling and giving of advice, this course is essential to help you make sure you are on the “same page” as God’s word and His Church. This will be an extremely beneficial course for anyone who decides to take it.

 

 

This course provides an in-depth review of the books of the Old Testament—a review of the Law and the Former Prophets focusing on background, content, structure, geography, teachings, and basic meaning of each book as well as outstanding people and events. In this course Dr. Douglas Winnail emphasizes the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament as the background and foundation for understanding the New Testament.

Attention USA Pastors: The deadline to submit Festival Assistance Request forms to the Church Administration Department is Tuesday, July 15. All forms should be properly completed by the members requesting second tithe assistance to attend the Feast this year. Then, the Area Pastors should write their recommendations/comments on the forms before submitting them to CAD. Festival Assistance Request forms are available to ministers on the MyLCG website (www.cogl.org). 

 

 

More often than not, after someone’s death, we remember the good that person has done. Words of appreciation and praise are expressed in eulogies that follow, but why don’t we express them when the person is still alive? Should good words be said only after one’s death? Why not while the person is still alive and able to hear? Why don’t we show more attention and more love to those around us while they are still alive? I know of a case of a woman not in the Church who, when her husband died, was almost devastated. She only remembered how “good” he had been, how much she cared for him and how much she now misses him. Sometimes, when a loved one dies, we mainly have regrets and mostly remember the “good” the defunct had been. Regrets hurt and pull us down. We seem unable to forgive our faults. It seems to be too late. Actually, is it really too late? Is the damage irreparable? Christ answered that question. Read Matthew 25:31-46. He told His disciples that the ultimate reward is when we do good to others—to feed the hungry, to satisfy the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to provide shelter for the strangers, to visit the sick and those in prison. “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren,” Christ said, “you did it to Me.” In other words, even though one may not have the opportunity to go back in time and repair the damage done, we can always do good to someone who is in need and still alive. We can do the good to others—even to strangers—that we failed to do to someone who was close to us—dear to us. In other words, if you have failed to do good or to speak well of someone you love, it’s never too late. Turn to those who need your help and your love. Remember Christ’s words, “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

 

Have a peaceful Sabbath,

Dibar Apartian

 

 

Europe Protecting Morals. “The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France has ruled that European countries currently prohibiting same-sex marriage are not violating the human rights of their citizens. In a 4-3 ruling, the court ruled against a lawsuit filed by two Austrian men who were denied permission to marry in 2002 by Austrian officials.” Although the court ruling does allow individual nations to support same-sex partnerships, it also clearly states that such support does not require such partnerships to be granted all the same rights and privileges of traditional marriages (Catholic News Agency, June 29, 2010). Although elements throughout Europe appear to be “casting off restraint” and moving away from Judeo-Christian values, the Vatican and even some of the courts are moving to uphold and maintain some of these traditional values. As time moves forward and many Israelite-descended nations, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand move further away from their traditional value base, this could create tension with a Europe that is working to maintain some of these same values. Bible prophecy reveals that at the time of the end, many of the descended nations of Israel will be taken into captivity by a European beast power (Deuteronomy 28:64-68; Amos 4:2; Amos 5:2-3). Could disagreement over traditional values be one of the dividing points that help create more animosity between the beast and these nations?

 

Germany and Russia. While Europe boomed, Germany was satisfied and did not need partners outside of Europe. It had plenty of markets to sell its goods and a vast worker base to support German industry. However, with the financial ills present throughout Europe and the inability to sustain its economy within the confines of Europe, Germany may be looking for another partner that can help it continue to grow and also support its demand for more workers. Germany is now reaching out to Russia while stating that it wants to integrate Russia into Europe. “It should be remembered that the Germans are proposing a Russian security relationship with Europe, not a Russian security relationship with Germany alone. At the same time, it should be remembered that it is the Germans taking the initiative to open the talks by unilaterally negotiating with the Russians and taking their agreements to other European countries.” As one expert on geopolitics describes Germany’s current challenge, “The Germans do not want to lose the European concept. At the same time, they are trying to redefine it more to their advantage. From the German point of view, bringing Russia into the relationship would help achieve this. But the Germans still have to explain what their relationship is with the rest of Europe, particularly their financial obligation to troubled economies in the eurozone” (Stratfor, June 22, 2010). Students of prophecy understand that Germany will play a leading role in the coming European Beast power (Isaiah 10:5-11). Germany’s current actions with Russia appear to support the possibility of such a future role. Eventually though, Germany will become a blessing to the nations of the earth (Isaiah 19:23-25).

 

U.S. Abortions on the Decline. According to the Allan Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has been declining since about 1991. At that time, there were nearly 1.6 million abortions annually! As of 2005, the number of US abortions fell to 1.2 million lives of unborn children terminated annually (Guttmacher.org, January 2008). This decline was still at a rate higher than many Northern and Western European nations. Additionally, in 2003, Cuba and Russia reported higher rates of abortion than actual live births (International Family Planning Perspectives, September 2007). Between 1973-2005, nearly 50 million abortions were successfully performed in the US alone (NRLC.org, October 20, 2004). These figures are one tell-tale sign of worldwide societal decline. The Apostle Paul observed “For we know that the whole creationgroans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22). Thankfully soon, all of creation including children and the unborn, will be delivered from the captivity of the deceitful god of this age (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9). Abortions will one day soon cease. God speed that day!—Scott Winnail

COGwriter 2010

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