Weekly Update

February 20th, 2020

Greetings from Charlotte,

Mr. Weston conducted a Tomorrow’s World presentation last weekend in Quezon City, Philippines, with 58 guests attending. He also met with brethren and ministers in Metro-Manila—and was treated to an evening of Filipino singing and dancing. Mr. Weston then flew to Thailand to conduct meetings with leaders from around the Australasian region, and on Friday is heading to Johannesburg, South Africa. He’ll be visiting the Pretoria and Johannesburg brethren on the Sabbath, and on Sunday will conduct a TWP in Cape Town. Here in the USA, we’ll be having TWPs in Anaheim, Long Beach, and Poway, California, this weekend, and TWPs will also be held in Saint-Claude and Gosier, Guadeloupe. We are very grateful for the healing announcement sent in by Mr. Hugh Stewart (see below). Thank you for your prayers for Mr. Weston’s travels, and for God’s Work and His people, all over this globe.—Rod McNair

Church Administration

Healing!

Approximately three years ago, a member in the London LCG congregation was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was anointed again several months ago. Tests during a doctor’s visit three weeks ago found no trace of cancer and he was declared cancer free. We give all praise to God for this healing!—Hugh Stewart

Passover and Night to Be Much Observed 2020—Repeat Announcement

Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2020, the Passover Service will be observed on Tuesday evening, April 7. Please let us know if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays, wine trays, and/or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Service recording and letter instructions (available in English, French, and Spanish). A new Passover Service recording in English was made for 2020 by Mr. Ken Frank. For U.S. congregations, we need this information by March 5 to ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs.

Also, please let us know of any scattered members who are unable to keep the Passover with a congregation and who need to receive the Passover Service recording and letter instructions for observing it at home. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible. U.S. requests are needed by March 5.

Also, Pastors, if you need copies of last year’s Night to Be Much Observed recording, please let us know.

Church Services Recording Policy—Repeat Announcement

From time to time the question comes up, “May I make a personal recording of a sermon or Bible Study?” Please note that guests, prospective members, or members are not permitted to make recordings of any Bible Study or Church service. This includes weekly Sabbath services, annual Holy Day services, and daily services during the Feast of Tabernacles.

The pastor should arrange for each Church service to be recorded, and Bible Studies should also be recorded wherever possible. The recording is the property of the Living Church of God, subject to use according to the administrative policies of the Church. The recording of the Church service should include the sermonette, announcements, and the sermon. Duplication of recordings for shut-ins, those who are sick, or other members who legitimately must miss services is permitted, subject to permission from the Area Pastor. Copies of Church service recordings should be placed in the local congregation library, available for the members to borrow. Master tapes should be retained separately and kept for one year. After one year, the master recordings may be reused.

Feast of Tabernacles

2020 Feast Registration: Sunday, May 17

General Feast of Tabernacles registration is scheduled for Sunday, May 17. Brethren and guests should not make Feast housing reservations until they have successfully registered and been approved (which will begin Sunday, May 17). This is so everyone has an equal and fair opportunity to obtain housing at the same time, and it is also to protect brethren from getting locked into housing in case unexpected venue changes occur before registration. Thank you for your consideration and compliance. 

For your general information, the following U.S. Feast sites and coordinators are listed below:

Living Youth Program

Living Youth Friday Evening Bible Study

The online Friday evening Teen Bible Study on February 28 will cover Luke 13:18 through chapter 14, and will be given by Mr. Sheldon Monson. Join us at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The chat room will be open for a half-hour before and after the Bible Study.

To join the study, visit https://live.livingyouth.org, and sign in with either your MyLCG or LYP camp registration credentials. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. For those who are unable to make it to the study, recordings of previous Living Youth Bible Studies, including last evening’s covering Luke 12–13:17, can be found on the Living Youth Programs Live archive page at https://live.livingyouth.org/archive/.—Josh Penman

Comments

Pay Attention to Prophecy: Jesus told His disciples to stay alert and watch for the fulfillment of specific Bible prophecies that will mark the approaching end of this age (Matthew 24). He also warned in the parable of the foolish virgins that many will be caught napping and unprepared by the surge of events that will precede His return to this earth (Matthew 25:1–13). It is truly amazing how God has given His Church a “more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV) so we can warn this world about the prophetic significance of both current and impending world events (Ezekiel 3 and 33). Yet, misguided, self-proclaimed teachers have ridiculed the Church’s understanding of prophecy and accused members of suffering from “prediction addiction,” or promoted the idea that end-time Bible prophecies are not really for us today, but for some time off in the future. As we see world events building to a prophetic crescendo, let’s make sure that we are building a closer relationship with God and His word, and that we are learning to study and live by that word every day (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 2:15).

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy—February 20, 2020

“Madness” Is in the Air: NPR reports that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently shared a sobering view of the world today, stating that “a wind of madness is sweeping the globe” (February 4, 2020). According to NPR, Guterres also observed that “cascading challenges” and “vicious circles” currently characterize the state of the world, putting peace and stability at risk. He noted that much of the civil unrest seen around the globe is a result of frustrated people who want their leaders to “answer their anxieties with effective action.”

The Apostle Paul foretold that “in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1). He went on to describe the attitudes of people in this coming time of danger, saying that individuals will be “unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (vv. 3–4). As we look around the globe, the “perilous times” prophesied by the Apostle Paul are coming into view. Such days would certainly fit well the lack of caring and effective leadership described by Guterres.

The Bible provides an enlightening contrast: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2). A righteous leader is one who follows the laws of God (Psalm 119:172). While this is not a popular message today, it reveals what is missing in our modern world and points to the only way that true peace and happiness will come. For more biblical insight into the world’s current ills, be sure to read, “What Is God’s Form of Government?

Dangerous Drinking Water Across the U.S.: The Guardian recently reported on a study of tap water at 44 sites in 31 states and Washington, DC, that found dangerous levels of perfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS (January 22, 2020). These substances are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment. According to the report, PFAS come from products such as Teflon and Scotchguard, as well as firefighting foam, and some have been linked to “cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems.” This new research suggests that a 2018 estimate of the number of people contaminated by PFAS—110 million—was probably far too low.

Of the 44 U.S. cities tested in the U.S., tap water in only Meridian, Mississippi contained no detectable PFAS, and only Seattle, Washington, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had contamination at levels less than 1 part per trillion.

God created the soil and rock to be fantastic filtration systems, designed to filter out naturally occurring micro-organisms and other substances. However, man-made chemicals such as PFAS are often not naturally occurring substances. Some of them do not break down in the environment and are frequently too small to be caught by creation’s natural filtration system. It is interesting that Bible prophecies also warn about the quality of water at the end of the age. God warned ancient and modern Israel that because of their sins, “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness [profaneness, pollution] has spread throughout the land” (Jeremiah 23:15, New International Version). While the tone of the prophecy is spiritual, there may also be physical parallels—as we are seeing today when we carelessly introduce chemicals into the environment that are not normally removed by natural means. To learn more about how God is going to deal with this situation, read or listen to “A Time of Restoring.”—Scott Winnail, Tom Turner, and Francine Prater