Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:
It has been another full and busy week. I have worked past midnight every night so far this week to try to keep up and go forward.
Additionally, subscribers were sent a printed copy of Bible News Prophecy magazine. It is our second printed magazine since the Continuing Church of God officially formed on December 28, 2012.
An electronic version of the current issue of magazine is at the the following link: https://www.ccog.org/magazines/BNP-2013-Apr-June.pdf.
Kenya and New Zealand; Ghana and India
Received positive reports from leaders in Kenya and New Zealand. Also we received positive news from those who are interested in being with us from Ghana and India this week. Those in Ghana stopped their previous observances of Easter after looking at the information in the article Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter? as well as the video sermon titled Why Easter? ; while those in India reported about the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread there.
Doing the Work in the Spanish Language
Both editions of Bible News Prophecy magazine have been translated and are being formatted by the graphics and printing company. I hope to be able to announce their availability soon.
Additionally, the Falling Away article has been translated into the Spanish language and is now available: La Apostasía: Enseñanzas de la Biblia y de la WCG.
World News
More and more actions and inactions by the new Pope Francis confirm that he either is the last pope or is setting the stage for his arrival. Many Catholics, including some I have communicated with, are concerned that he has strayed from certain Roman Catholic practices (see Is Pope Francis Catholic?) and is dangerous. Yet, much of the media appears enthralled by certain ecumenical moves that Francis is making (see Pope Francis, lapsed Catholics, and the Lutherans). He is one to watch (Mark 13:37) as he is taking steps that will lead to the rise of the ecumenical faith that the Bible warns about in places such as Revelation 13.
Both the Euro and US dollar faced various pressures this week and meetings were held to try to deal with these situation (e.g. see Euro and dollar concerns). Ultimately, the US dollar will be worthless, but this will take some time–but US leaders keep taking steps to make it happen (via various ways of increasing debt).
North Korea remains in the news, and perhaps the item of biggest significance is that US intelligence finally believes that the North Koreans do have the ability to produce a nuclear bomb small enough to fit on a missile–and that North Korea could already have one or more. That also suggests that North Korea could have one small enough to deliver with less obvious means. The world today is dangerous and various events in the Korean peninsula lately have confirmed that.
Suggested Sabbath Service for April 13, 2013
Here is my suggested format for Sabbath services for April 13, 2013:
- 2-3 hymns (we are using the 1974 Bible Hymnal from the old WCG, and in most areas, the Choral Accompaniment).
- Opening prayer.
- Sermonette. Here is a link to one: Abortion, the Bible, and US Debt. Note: while pro-abortion advocates are trying to claim that the Plan B “morning after pill is not abortive, this is misleading as it does expel an egg whether or not it has been fertilized (though the sooner one takes it the less likely it is that the egg was fertilized, but that is basically not possible for the taker of it to know for sure).
- Announcements (if any) and one hymn.
- Sermon which for most will be a recorded one titled Germany’s Biblical Origins (there is a related article here Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History for those who prefer the written word over the video or who may wish to refer back to this source as the sermon is based on this article).
- Final hymn.
- Closing prayer.
We are looking at ways of better making the videos available for those of us who have slower internet connections. So, please bear with us as we continue to look at better ways to serve you.
Sincerely,
Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God