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Dear Brethren and Friends,

“The WORK!”

Over the years, saying those two words has conveyed great meaning—an immediate understanding of what the Church of God was committed to accomplishing. In particular, this focused on preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, the same powerful message with which Jesus Christ began His ministry:

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15).

What followed was a period of some three and one-half years in which Jesus undertook an endeavor to ultimately change the world! That kind of impact was what He sought to accomplish! However, consider the struggles even He confronted.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – November 17, 2015"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

We are sending you this special letter from the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God and its affiliates in Canada and the UK. Once again the people of God have faithfully kept the commanded Feast of Tabernacles unless, of course, illness, age, mobility or other relevant reasons denied them this blessing. Most, if not all of the brethren, will have now returned home and resumed their jobs and normal routines. No doubt, we will all have memories of the Feast from different perspectives with, hopefully, the messages taking centre stage. That is why we attend the Feast, to be taught more of God’s Way of Life now and the wonderful future that begotten members of the Family of God can look forward to.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – October 19, 2015"

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Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends:

Since I wrote you last time, many gruesome, terrible and appalling events have taken place in the world. Modern warfare is continuing with ever-increasing vengeance, and many places, including in the Middle East, have become uncontrollable battle grounds. One of war’s many curses is the catastrophic migrant crisis with which Europe finds itself confronted, and more and more leaders acknowledge that they have NO real solution.

Of course, “solutions” are being proposed. President Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic announced the use of the army to expel migrants from the country’s borders, thereby resurrecting horrible images of East German soldiers patrolling the Berlin Wall. Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary wrote that his country was being “overrun” with refugees, most of which, he noted, were Muslims, not Christians, adding that Europe and European culture have Christian roots. We were also informed that Hungarian police halted a train packed with migrants bound for the Austrian border and tried to force them to disembark in a town with a detention camp.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – September 8, 2015"

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Dear Members and Friends,

Some of us who were around in our former Church association in the 60’s will remember the growth and the zeal people had. The Church was constantly expanding in growth and in the distribution of the literature.  There was a sense of urgency in the air because most of us thought that the Work would end in 1972 and Christ would return in 1975. Well, 1972 came and went. Other dates were put forth and they came and went. By the mid 70’s, there was a shift in priorities in regard to the first commission of preaching the gospel to the world, and certain doctrinal errors began to creep into the Church. In the words of our former leader, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, the Church went off track. Great effort was put into getting the Church back on track, and in the early 80’s Mr. Armstrong felt the Church was indeed back on track.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – July 1, 2015"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

Last month, Friday 8th May 2015 was the anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), marking 70 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe. There were many celebrations and parties up and down the UK as well as church services.

Less than a year ago, in August 2014, the 100th anniversary of the day Britain entered one of the costliest conflicts in history was marked, that being the First World War.

Wikipedia writes that this “was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents’ technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history…”

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – June 11, 2015"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

As we prepare to observe the Feast of Pentecost, we should reflect on what has happened in each of our lives through the calling of God and His gift of the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, and he reminded them:

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – May 15, 2015"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

Having completed the Church Conference and the Spring Holy Days, we want to review some highlights of what has proven to be an extremely busy and productive period in the Work which God has given all of us to accomplish.

Our newest booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man!,” has been published, and we are including a copy with this letter for those who have not yet received one.

The 2015 Church Conference was held in San Diego, California, beginning on March 20th and continuing through the 24th. We began by reviewing activities in all our Church areas. A special focus this year has been the new website and our efforts to present a uniform design presence throughout. Of note is the fact that we have seen increased traffic to our Church websites over the year, most significantly since the launch of the new design. Also, we have recently launched a new media campaign to take advantage of the use of emails, press releases and postings on Facebook to more effectively publicize our booklets, sermons, StandingWatch programs, and other material. In addition, we have also published information on our websites about our observance of the Feast of Tabernacles 2015 in California and Germany.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – April 21, 2015"

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Dear Members,

When you receive this letter, we will be conducting our Church conference in San Diego, and following that, Michael Link and I will be traveling to Germany for the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, while Brian Gale will be conducting Passover services in San Diego, Rene Messier in Oregon and Dave Harris, Eric Rank and Robb Harris in Colorado. As in previous years, we will give our scattered brethren opportunity to participate live in Passover services, which we will broadcast from Colorado over the Internet.

When we partake of the Passover symbols of bread and wine, we think of Christ’s death (1 Corinthians 11:26). We reflect on Christ’s supreme Sacrifice—that He was willing to die for us so that we can live. And since we are justified by His death, but saved by His life in us (Romans 5:9-10), we continue with celebrating the Festival of the Days of Unleavened Bread for seven days, symbolizing our complete willingness to live a sinless life (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)—seven representing “completion” and “perfection,” and leaven representing sin during this time period.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – March 18, 2015"

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Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends:

In all things, including Christianity, growth may be good or bad. Just as a garden may grow fresh vegetables or weeds, a Christian may grow fruit of the Spirit leading to eternal life or sinful behavior bearing the fruit of death (compare Romans 7:5). It should be clear and obvious that the work of a Christian is to grow in the right way, increasing in Spiritual development. It is the work of the Church to provide the raw materials so that this good growth may occur in the lives of individuals.

The Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates take a very active approach regarding the commission to preach the Gospel to the world as a witness. We know that the good kind of growth requires that the Truth must be preached (Romans 10:14-15). However, we also realize that the increase that may occur in the lives of those hearing the Gospel message must be subject to the Will of God. Paul had this same mind when he reflected on his and Apollos’ work as ministers, stating that it was their job to figuratively plant and water the seed of truth so that God might provide the increase (compare 1 Corinthians 3:5-8). Knowing that Jesus Christ has not yet returned to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, we recognize that there is still a Work to be done so that those who have a calling to answer may be led to grow in righteousness. For this reason we continually strive to find better ways to communicate the seed of Truth to those who will receive it in fertile ground (compare Luke 8:15).

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – February 20, 2015"