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Letter to the Brethren: November 10, 2022

Posted on November 10, 2022 by CCOG

Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

Greetings from the Five Cities region of California.

Rwanda

As mentioned before, evangelist Evans Ochieng went to Rwanda this past September and then had a couple of leaders from Rwanda go to Kenya to see how the Feast of Tabernacles was kept there.

The group there had a sabbath-keeping background, but did not keep the biblical Holy Days before other than Passover.

Here is a photo of the small Kigali city congregation at home of the leader Moïse Nshimiyimana and an email from him from a few days ago:

Dear Pastor Dr Bob ,

Thank you for this good news of CCOG worldwide .
I thank God for protect us in trip we had at Kenya for attending Feast of tabernacles last month .
With brethren of Kigali city and Nyagatare district congregations , we are happy for enter in Continuing Church of God official .
Thanks about your continue to support us.
God continue to bless you.
Moïse .

Here is a photo of the brethren in the Nyagatare district congregation:

We now have two congregations in Rwanda.

Anyway, after they have asked to become part of the Continuing Church of God, in addition to providing instruction, we began assisting them in getting formal registration, which is required in Rwanda.

There are also with a couple of other groups in Rwanda expressing interest in being with us.

Drought, Food, and Growth in Kenya

Officially, the drought situation in Kenya has been worsening.

We provided funds for food support to several congregations in Kenya in the past week.

Pastor Tiongik Sawek sent the following photos and report:

Receive greetings in Jesus Name. We are happy here at Chilani. The Brethren pass greetings and really thank Bob Thiel and Evangelist Ochieng for the support they made towards the food supply to Chilani church members. We managed to feed the members, mostly of them being orphans and widows. We pray for all the people who contributed towards acquiring the food and the Continuing Church of God members. There is famine in most areas and we are praying that God may provide for the same. I will therefore attach pictures showing how we share the food. God bless you.
Regards,
Pastor Sawek

The Bible teaches:

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:14-20)

Hungry widows and orphans are afflicted–and we are assisting.

Pastor Sawek sent the following report yesterday:

Hello and receive greetings from Rift Valley Kenya. We are planning to visit Merigi in Bomet for the third time according to our schedule. Purposely we are going to open a new church of the continuing church of God, and join with other brethren from the region.. We are therefore starting our journey tomorrow and shall be in the region till sabbath then proceed to Saoset before moving to Kembu along the Longisa route.

As written in the book of Luke 10:2 as he speaks about the harvest,,
Our company shall be accompanied with the brethrens from the north rift region.
Kindly pray for all of this and may God bless you.
Regards,
Pst. Sawek

So, it looks like we may be having more growth in Kenya. Please pray he will have a successful trip. Also, pray, as Jesus said, for more laborers for the harvest (Luke 10:2).

Speaking of prayers, CCOG’s Pastor in Malawi, Radson Mulozowa requested prayers today because he had a bone fracture between the right hand and the shoulder–and seemingly arthritis there.

Radio

Last week, I mentioned that we began broadcasting on Radio Miami International (WRMI).

Here is what WRMI’s website has up about our program:

Bible News Prophecy.jpg

Bible News Prophecy

The Bible News Prophecy program broadcasts news and information in the light of the Bible and its prophecies. This includes proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to the world as a witness (Matthew 24:14), teaching all things that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19-20), providing prophetic warnings of God’s impending judgments, contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), assisting in the calling of the full number of those to be reached before Jesus returns (Romans 11:25-26), explaining mysteries of God’s merciful (James 2:13) and loving plan (e.g. Romans 16:25-27), helping people better understand the Bible (Acts 8:30-31, Romans 10:14-15), explaining God’s loving plan of salvation (Psalm 68:30, John 3:16-17, Luke 3:6, Romans 11), encouraging people to live the way of Philadelphian (Hebrews 13:1) and agape love (1 Corinthians 13), and calling for personal (Acts 2:38) and national repentance (2 Chronicles 7:13-15).

The Bible News Prophecy program teaches the fact of God’s existence, the fact of Jesus being Savior, and the certainty of biblical truths. The program discusses what the future holds for humanity in the light of Bible prophecy. The Bible News Prophecy program analyzes news and world events by the light of the word of God and also explains matters that will happen in the future, based on Bible prophecy.

The Bible News Prophecy program is sponsored by the Continuing Church of God. We trace our unbroken history to the start of the New Testament church in the Book of Acts. We are a pacifist church that teaches original Christianity as taught and practiced by Jesus Christ, the original Apostles, their early faithful followers, and others faithful to original Christianity throughout history. We have supporters and congregations around the world. We have literature online in over 200 languages at ccog.org.

Our primary English speaking radio presenters for the Bible News Prophecy program on Radio Miami International (WRMI) as well as on European Gospel Radio are Steve Dupuie and Dr. Bob Thiel in North America and Aleksandar Veljic in Europe. The Bible News Prophecy program is also available online at biblenewsprophecy.net.

We also have native language broadcasters in Kenya, Ghana, and the Philippines on stations in those lands. More on our global outreach and various forms of media can be found at ccog.org/multimedia.

Bible News Prophecy is heard on WRMI on 5850 kHz at 0130 UTC Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. https://wrmi.net/index.php/programming/

Note: The time of 0130 UTC means the broadcast would heard in North America on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.

In other radio news, European Gospel Radio (EGR) sent the following email:

Last week our schedule changed according to the new B22 season (Oct-March). Times and frequencies on Shortwave are coordinated with all world broadcasters and usually change at the beginning of the Winter and Summers season on the last Week-end in Cot and March each year.

This year, unfortunately, we had to change time and slightly move our frequency due to a conflict with other stations. Our AM/Medium Wave frequency is unchanged.

After one week of monitoring our signals, we can confirm that you program will be aired at the following times/days in B22 (Oct 30 2022-march 26, 2023):

Monday 21:30-21:45 CET on AM/MW 1323 kHz + streaming
Tuesday 19:30-19:45 CET on SW 7295 kHz + AM/MW 1323 kHz + streaming
Wednesday 19:30-19:45 CET on SW 7295 kHz + AM/MW 1323 kHz + streaming
Thursday 19:30-19:45 CET on SW 7295 kHz + AM/MW 1323 kHz + streaming

and a free repeat on:
Wednesday 22:45-23:00 CET on AM/MW 1323 kHz + streaming

(CET=Central European Time: local time in Central Europe)

Your programs are also repeated at random several times during the week on All Gospel Radio (streaming).

You can check our streaming channels at:

https://nexus.org/mp3

Our program and frequency schedules are available online at:

https://www.nexus.org/schedules

Blessing & take care.

So, the time has changed.

EGR reaches several nations in Europe on AM and covers all of Europe, much of the Middle East, and parts of North Africa on its shortwave broadcast.

In even more radio news, deacon Ondigo Ochieng sent me copies of the receipts for payment to continue to be on three radio stations in Kenya until late February 2023:

Dear Dr. Thiel:

First and foremost am grateful to receive funds for radio contract renewal. I have so far paid for 1 regional station and 1 local station i.e Togotane 88.3 FM and Milambo 103.8 FM respectively.

We will be on the two radio stations for four months starting from this weekend to 25th February 2023. Milambo 103.8 FM have agreed to offer us a month one month free which is the whole March 2023.

The remaining funds will be used to pay at least two programs of 20 minutes each for national station.

I am also grateful to receive 100 copies of Kingdom of God booklets in Swahili from Evans Ochieng and other 30 copies of Continuing History of the Church of God books. I realized it is has more information than the first edition. Thanks for more elaboration.

Herein attached are the two receipts of the radio stations.

We will have ministers like Joel Owuoti, and others speak over the radio.

Best regards,

Bro. Ondigo Ochieng.

Deacon Ondigo Ochieng at the recording studio

Radio is one of the “doors” we are using to work to fulfill Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19-20, while also working towards part of the fulfillment of Romans 11:25.

More information on our radio and other outreaches, check out the CCOG Multimedia page.

Suggested Sabbath Day Service

Here is a suggested Sabbath day service for our scattered brethren and other interested people:

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. 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 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. There are also some messages at the CCOGAfrica channel. There are also messages in the Spanish language at the CDLIDDSermones channel.

World News Items

Pope Francis spent a few days in Bahrain and hoped to help heal the rift between some Muslim groups as well as promote his globalist agenda (see Another step towards Chrislam? Pope Francis meeting with Muslim leaders in Bahrain). While in Bahrain, Pope Francis expressed his hope “that COP27 will be a step forward for ‘concrete and far-sighted choices, undertaken with the younger generations in mind, before it is too late and their future is compromised’ ” (see https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-11/parolin-cop27-provides-opportunity-that-cannot-be-wasted.html).

As far as compromising goes, in conjunction with COP27, there is to be an interreligious ‘Climate Ceremony of Repentance ‘ on Sunday (see COP 27, the Climate Ceremony of Repentance, the Solution to Pollution, and How to Really Solve Climate Change), where an improper version of the ‘Ten Commandments’ are to received on Mt. Sinai (see I365: Religious leaders gather in Sinai to receive “Climate Justice Ten Commandments”). This is Babylonian and ‘Mother Earth’ blasphemous paganism.

With all that going on, remember that we know the real solutions to humanity’s problems are coming. Rejoice and be glad in that (see also Good News: A Better World is Coming, Believe the Gospel, and You CAN Be Positive in Today’s World).

Concluding Comments

“Climate change” keeps being in the news, but world leaders continue to overlook the true solution.

The Bible shows how to resolve climate change. Notice what God has declared:

3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. (Leviticus 26:3-6)

Yes, there is a biblical solution to climate change, but climate activists and world leaders overlooked that.

But, people will heed God and His ways during the millennial Kingdom of God.

Until the arrival of that Kingdom brethren, all human beings should strive to obey God while being careful about waste and pollution. And all should also pray for God’s kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).

That said, the Bible does reveal that there is a solution to “climate change.”

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer

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.