Weekly Update

December 15th, 2022

Greetings from Charlotte,

Carol and I returned earlier this week from Canada. Mr. Rod McNair returned from Arizona, where he conducted Tomorrow’s World Presentations in Tempe and Tucson. Mr. Wallace Smith recorded a telecast on Wednesday titled “Evolution’s Dirty Little Secrets,” offering Evolution and Creation: What Both Sides Miss.

Our offices in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere are busy mailing the new Germany in Prophecy booklet that was offered in the recent semi-annual letter. Nearly 14,000 requests from around the world have already come in, with many more coming in each day.

Mr. Ephraim Abok’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, December 23. Your continued prayers for Mrs. Abok, their family, and our brethren in Kenya are appreciated. Staff for South Africa’s camps held in Bergkroon, near Cape Town, will be arriving on December 18 to prepare for the Teen Camp being held December 20–30. The first official Preteen Camp in South Africa will run from December 25–30. Please remember these camps in your prayers. Mr. Christo Botha reports that blackouts (called “load-shedding”) are having “an extremely negative effect” on television responses. He says, “We plan to ask all the brethren in our Regional Office Weekly Update to pray about this situation.”—Gerald Weston

Church Administration

Past and Upcoming Tomorrow’s World Presentations

Last weekend, we held three Tomorrow’s World Presentations: two initial presentations in Tempe (Phoenix) and Tucson, Arizona; and one follow-up in Raleigh, North Carolina. These presentations had a combined total of 60 guests. This weekend, we have two follow-up presentations scheduled, in Phoenix and Tucson. Thank you all for your continued prayers for these presentations.

French-Language Update

This week we published a new telecast titled “Revelation and the Day of the Lord,” offering the CD “The Day of the Lord.” It is available on our Le Monde de Demain YouTube channel and on our Facebook page. This November, we had our highest number of booklets and Bible Study Course requests. Usually, we send out 1,500–1,800 booklets and Bible Study Course lesson sets in French per month. In November, we sent out over 2,000 pieces of literature (2,189 to be exact). It is exciting to witness the increase in booklet requests in the French language. 

Family Weekends – 30th Anniversary of the Global/Living Church of God

As final arrangements are being made for the first of this winter’s family weekends, it’s good to remember that this coming December 26 will be the 30th anniversary of the Global/Living Church of God. It was on Saturday, December 26, 1992, that Dr. Meredith conducted the first Sabbath service of the Global Church of God, with 19 in attendance. We are grateful for the courage and zeal of Dr. Meredith for stepping out in faith 30 years ago and reviving God’s Work that we are continuing today.

A special, sermonette-length video message by Mr. Gerald Weston is being produced to commemorate this milestone.

As a reminder, the family weekends scheduled to take place over the next couple months are listed below.

Family Weekends in Planning Process for December 24–25 (unless otherwise noted):

Living Education

The first weekend in December, 50 men, representing 14 congregations from eight states, gathered in East Central Oklahoma for a Men’s Training Camp. We met at Robbers Cave State Park, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, where rock-wall cabins surrounded by oak forest give a nostalgic sense of time long past. The theme was “The Roles We Play,” focusing on our male roles of Son, Father, Husband, and Citizen. Mr. Jonathan McNair directed the weekend, and sermons or presentations were also given by the following elders: Shannon Christal, James Populo, Gene Lathrop, Mike Elliott, and Gene Hilgenberg. The men left the weekend inspired and motivated to put into practice the lessons learned from the weekend: to be better Christians and emulate Christ in all roles of life.

Finance Department

Year-End Donations (U.S. only)

Please be reminded that all U.S. contributions dated in December and postmarked on or before December 31 will be counted as a donation for 2022 and may be tax deductible in 2022, even if we receive it in January 2023. For those who donate online, the deadline for online contributions is 11:59 p.m. on December 31. Keep in mind that December 31 is a Sabbath this year, and sundown times will vary depending on your location.

Also note that if you plan on taking a tax deduction for contributions, your tax return should not be filed until you receive your year-end receipt for donations. This donation receipt is one of the tax documents the Internal Revenue Service requires you to keep as backup to claim this deduction. We plan to issue year-end donation receipts on or about January 20, 2023.

As we close the calendar year for 2022, we want to extend a hearty thank you to all our members and co-workers for your generous financial support, and for your prayers for every aspect of the Work. The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few, but collectively we are able to accomplish much through God’s blessing. Please continue to pray for God’s guidance in everything that we do at Headquarters and in the local congregations around the world as we begin 2023.

Comments

Wisdom with Words: Today, people are encouraged to “say whatever you think” —and everyone has an opinion to express, in conversations and on the Internet! However, the Bible offers very different advice. Long ago, Solomon observed that, “A fool’s voice is known by his many words” (Ecclesiastes 5:3) and “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). We are also told, “A prudent man conceals [is reluctant to display] knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness” (Proverbs 12:23) and “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23). I once had an English teacher who used the phrase, “Remember to engage your brain before you put your mouth in gear,” which is the same advice we find in Proverbs 16:23: “The heart [the mind] of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.” King David wrote, “The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice” because “The law of his God is in his heart” (Psalm 37:30–31). God’s word provides sound advice about choosing our words carefully.

Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy—December 15, 2022

Embracing Perversion: On December 14, 2022, American President Joe Biden signed a historic piece of legislation—the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA)—that seeks to protect same-sex “marriage” in the United States. In his celebratory remarks, the president declared, “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms” (Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2022). The signing of the new law was marked by a celebration at the White House. More than 70 percent of adults in the U.S. now favor same-sex "marriage."

We are witnessing a turning point in the history of Western civilization. Just 26 years ago in 1996, the American congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that legally defined marriage as union between one man and one woman, as stated by God in the Scriptures (Genesis 2:21–25). The Bible also labels homosexuality as a serious sin (Leviticus 18:22; 1 Timothy 1:9–10; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10). Yet today, the so-called "Respect for Marriage Act" disrespects marriage by rejecting these biblical instructions that have guided societies in the Western world for thousands of years.

However, few in our modern secular society grasp the prophetic significance of this major turning point. Jesus said that conditions at the end of the age would be like those in ancient Sodom (Luke 17:28–30), a city God destroyed for many sins, including the abomination of homosexuality (Jude 7; Ezekiel 16:49–50). The Apostle Paul warned there would be a great rebellion against God just before the return of Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Moses warned the Israelite-descended peoples that in the “latter days” they would become utterly corrupt—calling good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20)—and would bring upon themselves the wrath of God (Deuteronomy 31:29). To gain a better understanding of where these events are really heading, read Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return.

Crowning New “Queens”: Recently, two leaders of Israelite-descended nations celebrated events with drag queens—men dressed as women. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau appeared with drag queens on the television program “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World” to say that “it does not matter… who you love” (CBC, November 25, 2022). A month later, American President Biden invited a prominent drag queen activist and “Drag Queen Story Hour” participant to attend the signing of the new “Respect for Marriage Act.”

However, lost in all the celebrations over both occasions is the fact that the Bible clearly states that it is a sin and an abomination for a man to dress like a woman (Deuteronomy 22:5) or to give the appearance of being a woman (1 Corinthians 11:1–16). God created men and women with unique qualities to be distinctly different yet complementary (Genesis 2:18–25), yet even dictionaries today are clouding this created difference by redefining “man” and “woman” on the basis of feelings instead of biological facts (Washington Post, December 13, 2022). As a result, this God-intended difference is being lost and the Bible’s vital perspective on men and women is viewed as a “strange thing” (Hosea 8:12). Bible prophecies have long warned that Israelite-descended nations would forget God and turn from His ways (Jeremiah 2:11–19) and that our leaders would lead us astray (Isaiah 9:16). To learn what has been lost, read our informative booklet The Ten Commandments.—Stuart Wachowicz and Douglas Winnail