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Letter to the Brethren: September 17, 2015

Posted on September 17, 2015 by CCOG

Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

The Feast of Trumpets for 2015 is already past and the other Holy Days of the season are almost upon us.

The recommended sermon for this upcoming Sabbath is related to the Holy Days.

Day of Atonement

This year, the Day of Atonement begins at sunset September 22 and continues through sunset September 23.

This date is basically kept like a Sabbath, but with fasting.  Holy Day Offerings are normally also taken up on it.

With this Day coming up, keep in mind the following:

9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?  (Proverbs 20:9)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

We all need Christ’s Atonement.

Atonement Services

Recall, from Ontario, Michael Radtke sent in the following email:

Greetings from the CCOG in Milton Ont. Can.!We will be holding services on September 14, for the Feast of Trumpets and September 23 for the Day  of Atonement. We will meet in our regular spot, the Recreation room off the front entrance of Building A here in Milton. Services will run from 10 AM to 12 Pm. Anyone interested in attending contact Michael Radtke at michael.radtke@sympatico.ca.

For Atonement services in Michigan, contact Terry LaFrance via email: terrytoon22@yahoo.com

Services will also take place in the New Brunswick (contact Herb Haddon via email: hwhaddon@gmail.com), Canada, the USA (Kansas), New Zealand, Africa, the Philippines ( in the Silay City area, please contact Oscar Mediavilla via email hansmeidavilla@rocketmail.com and in the Cagayan de Oro area, please contact Anthony Flavell via email anthonyflavell@yahoo.com.ph), and elsewhere.

Greetings from Ghana and Ethiopia

We received the following from the head of the group in Ghana that has expressed interest in the Continuing Church of God:

Dear Bob,

The entire brethren of COG 7th Day Ghana wishes you and all members of CCOG a happy Feast of Trumpet and successful Celebrations during the fall festivals.

Stay blessed.

Pastor Samuel Ofosu Gyeabour

We hope and pray that all those interested in Ghana will grow in grace and knowledge during the Fall Holy Days and beyond. We also hope and pray, they will truly support our efforts to reach the world with a witness of Christ’s gospel of the kingdom.

The same goes towards those in Ethiopia.  We received the following from Ethiopia:

Dear brothers in ccog all over the earth.we now said bless to our Almighty God, because he welcome us to celebrate this Trumpets feast day this year a men.

Koang deng.

There are hundreds in both Ghana and Ethiopia that are involved with the leaders that sent the emails.  This is the first time the group in Ethiopia has observed the Feast of Trumpets.  They also have a type of COG 7th day background and also are not actually part of CCOG, but they have been observing the Feast of Tabernacles in the past.

The Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles in 2015 begins the evening of September 27th and runs until sunset October 5th.  We put together a draft for two brochures on the sites in Denver and Niagara Falls that we plan to print and then distribute at those particular sites.

If you are planning on attending in Denver and have not contacted me, please send me an email: cogwriter@aol.com.  We plan to have the ‘blessing of little children’ at this site and if you have little children to be blessed that I am unaware of, also please email me.

If you are planning on attending in Niagara Falls and have not contacted Herb Haddon, please send him an email: hwhaddon@gmail.com.

If you are planning on attending the Feast of Tabernacles’ site in New Zealand, contact John Hickey, email john.h@vodafone.net.nz; his mobile phone number is 021 519 441.

We are also partially supporting a group of about 500 (including widows and orphans) in Ghana this year and hope that that after they learn more from us that they will wish to be part of the Continuing Church of God.

If you are planning on attending in Tanzania or Kenya or Nigeria or Ghana or elsewhere in Africa and you are not from Africa, please contact Pastor Evans Ochieng, email evochieng74@gmail.com.  We have a leader from Malawi coming and hopefully that means that we will be able to have a site in Malawi next year.

We sent funds to Nigeria this week so hopefully two groups in that nation will be able to get together for the Feast of Tabernacles.  It will be the first Feast of Tabernacles for both groups.  One of the groups is with us and the other is basically checking out the Feast of Tabernacles.  We will see how this works out.

If you hope to attend in the Philippines in the Silay City area, please contact Oscar Mediavilla via email hansmeidavilla@rocketmail.com.

If you hope to attend in the Philippines in the Cagayan de Oro area, please contact Anthony Flavell via email anthonyflavell@yahoo.com.ph.

For more information of the various locations of the for 2015, including those in Africa & Asia, check out the updated article Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2015.

British Isles and Continental Europe

For those of you in the British Isles and continental Europe, we do not expect to have a physical site for the Feast of Tabernacles in 2015 in your region.  Hence, would advise watching videos for the sermons, offertories, and sermonettes.

However, we do expect to have a physical Feast of Tabernacles’ site in the Netherlands in 2016.  It is my intent that my wife, youngest son, and I will attend the first part of the Feast of Tabernacles there in 2016.  So, please do not be discouraged and remember to save your second tithe so hopefully you will be able to attend with us in the Netherlands.  Also, people in other parts of the world would also be welcome.

Canadian Registration Approval Received

As mentioned last week, the Continuing Church of God in Canada has been granted charitable tax exempt status.  This means that donations made by Canadians in Canada are now tax deductible.

We since have been working on getting a proper bank account for CCOG of Canada and hope to confirm that within a week.

Feast Holy Day Offerings for Canada

Because of how Canadian and USA income tax rules go, I have some requests related to the Holy Day offerings to be taken up in Canada during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.

Those of you from Canada should give offerings in your currency.  They will go to the Continuing Church of God, Canada.  You also will be able to handle them as charitable deductions on your personal income tax.

Those of you from the USA who are attending in Canada should give offerings in US dollars.  You can write checks, use money orders, and/or give cash.  This money will be collected by me when I am in Canada and I will take it back to the USA.   You also will be able to handle them as charitable deductions on your personal income tax.  Even if you do not need or cannot use the tax deduction, I still ask you to do it this way.

Why?

The work in Canada simply does not need the funds as much as we can use them in the USA.  In the USA we have more freedom in giving the money to places like Africa.  And while that can be done in Canada (and that is the plan for some of the Canadian income), the rules and paperwork requirements are high.  It is currently simply easier for the work for your offerings to go to the USA.  In the old Worldwide Church of God they use to tell people traveling outside the USA to send their Holy Day offerings to Pasadena, instead of at the international Feast site.

For us now, it will work just fine for you to put USA on the outside of your Holy Day offering envelop and that way we will simply separate the offerings that way.

Thank you n advance for your cooperation on this.

Google Campaign

Google reported that our advertising campaign over the internet reached 3,431,356 computers last month.  It is my hope and prayer to be able to increase our reach this way next year.  We will see how our finances look.

Through our websites, apart from Google, we have reached people in pretty much all nations and territories in the world.

We want to provide as thorough of a witness of the gospel of the kingdom as we can (Matthew 24:14).  We have often reached millions over the internet and over radio.  We have reached multiple thousands over our YouTube television broadcasts (around 500,000 views in total).

And, of course, we have had personal contact with people in all the inhabited contents as we strive to fulfill Jesus’ commissions in Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19-20.

World News Items

Dutch politician Gene Wilders called the refugee/migrant situation an ‘Islamic invasion’ (see Will ‘Islamic Invasion’ by migrants break up the European Union?).  Some wonder if this will break Europe apart.  Whether it temporarily does or not, the reality is that it is likely that the increased amount of Islamic immigrants into Europe will be one of the factors that will lead to the rise of the final King of the North of Daniel 11.

Syria’s President Assad and Russia’s President Putin blamed the West for the problem of Syrian refugees (see Syria’s Assad and Russia’s Putin blame the West for the migrant crisis; Europe will change).  The USA was singled out and some members of the two main political parties in the USA realize that the USA has significantly affected the problem.

Even though Pope Francis called for his parishes, monasteries, and nunneries to each take in two migrant families (see Pope Francis tells tens of thousands of European Catholic facilities to accept one migrant family per church/monastery), even he admitted that there is a terrorist risk associated with accepting these migrants (see Pope Francis admits Syrian refugees are a terrorist threat and pushes his view of Europe).

Speaking of the pontiff, Newsweek asked on its front cover if the pope was Catholic (see Newsweek asks, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’).  We have warned since he became pontiff that the final Antichrist will feign Roman Catholicism but not really believe it.  Although Pope Francis sometimes takes actions that are not consistent with aspects of Roman Catholicism, his age seems to suggest that he will not be the final Antichrist.  He, however, keeps taking steps that will make it easier for the final Antichrist to rise up, whether it is him or someone else.

Australia got a new prime minister this week.  His name is Malcolm Turnbull and he holds to a variety of beliefs that go against biblical morality (see Australia gets a new Prime Minister who is pro-abortion and pro-homosexual marriage).  Look for Australia to attempt to legalize homosexual ‘marriage.’  This will not end well for Australia (cf. Romans 1:18-32).

North Korea threatened the USA with some type of nuclear attack (see VOA: ‘N. Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack on US’).  Although the threat itself is mainly bravado, the reality is that the leader of North Korea could do something that could harm at least part of the USA.  While North Korea would pay a high price for this if caught, the USA is vulnerable to terrorist plots, electomagnetic pulse weapons, nuclear bombs, and ‘dirty bombs’ that North Korea has.

The USA agreed to take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees/migrants (see US to take more migrants, while EU sets quotas–will any regret this?).  The USA also thwarted a Muslim terrorist plot for 9/11/15 (see 9/11: Terrorism has been growing; Muslim arrested for plot against Kansas today).  The USA will be hit by more terrorism (cf. Leviticus 26:14-17; Deuteronomy 32:25; Ezekiel 21:12; Psalms 73:12,19; Proverbs 1:25-27; Ecclesiastes 12:5) and taking in the Syrians and others increases the likely number of potential terrorists within its borders.

The US military’s ‘Jade Helm 15’ basically ended on Tuesday (see Jade Helm 15 ending; Was COGwriter right?) as two days earlier did Jonathan Cahn’s and Mark Biltz’s claimed Shemitah year (see  Jonathan Cahn defends ‘The Mystery of the Shemitah,’ whereas COGwriter denounces it and Does end of Mark Biltz’s Shemitah mean that the Tribulation starts tomorrow?).  We in CCOG were correct declaring that these matters were not of massive prophetic significance. An advocate of ‘blood moons’ insists that the one later this month must have major prophetic significance, but it does not (see WND, ‘Why this coming blood moon is important to watch’).

As I have mentioned before:

Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’  Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.  (Isaiah 8:12)

While prophetic events are going on, those who predicted certain matters related to Jade Helm 15 and the so-called ‘mystery of the Shemitah’ were wrong.  As are certain ones relating to the blood moon that is expected on the 28th of this month.

We in the Continuing Church of God strive to always rely on the Bible for our prophetic understandings and teachings.  Because of that:

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).

Suggested Sabbath Service

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services this week:

Note: If you have a slow internet connection, you can watch these by starting the video, then below it (and towards the right) look for an outline of a gear–if you click on that, it will allow the YouTube video to be played with lower video quality, but at least it will not stop often–you can select a quality as low as 144p.

If your internet connection is still too slow (as my home one is) and/or you prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played. This is an option we have made available (but we are also looking into ways to improve that as well)–and, of course, we have written article options that we list each week. Some people have found that if their internet connections are not fast enough, that they can simply listen to the messages that are found at the new Bible News Prophecy online radio channel.

IN CASE YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A ‘LETTER TO THE BRETHREN‘ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE MANY SERMON MESSAGES ON THE ContinuingCOG channel AND MANY SERMONETTE MESSAGES ON THE Bible News Prophecy channel.

Suggested Day of Atonement Service

Here is our suggested format for the upcoming Day of Atonement:

  • 2-3 hymns (our songbook, The Bible Hymnal, contains the materials from the 1974 Bible Hymnal from the old WCG with new covers, plus ten additional hymns; there is also some Choral Accompaniment online).
  • Opening prayer.
  • Offertory Sermonette, which for many who receive this letter via email will be a recorded one titled: Atonement Offertory. Other sermonettes are available at the Bible News Prophecy channel.
  • Announcements (if any; though for many it will be this letter) and one hymn.
  • Sermon, which for many who receive this letter via email will be a recorded one. The one suggested for this week is: God’s Atonement Plan.  A related written article is titled: The Atonement Plan. Other sermons are also available at the ContinuingCOG channel.
  • Final hymn.
  • Closing prayer.

Other sermons are available if you wish to hold double services.

Concluding Comments

This week, I would like to close with the following admonition in James:

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)

Brethren and co-workers, do not deceive yourselves.  Practice what we preach and believe.  Keep God’s Holy Days as He would want you to.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Posted in Letters to the Brethren
About CCOG
The Continuing Church of God, which attempts to represent the most faithful remnant of the Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7) portion of the Church of God, bases its beliefs on the Holy Bible. Read CCOG's statement of beliefs for more information.