After Malm's death, his son set up a GoFundMe account and expected people to donate $90,000.00 CAD! His son was going to get evicted from their apartment because both he and his father did not have jobs but relied upon Canadian Government assistance. If there is one thing that COG members were good at it was scamming other church members for as much money as they could get from them.
Now almost 9 months later very few people have given money to this scam.
A comment was made on a previous thread about how the church has always claimed that no one could join the church unless God had called them. The problem then arose, did a minister ever have the right to determine who was in and who was left out? Potential members had to jump through all kinds of hoops in order to impress ministers that they were "called." From reading Mystery of the Ages, countless booklets, and a grand litany of does and don'ts, potential members needed to jump through a myriad of man-made and totally useless things to do.
The COG loved to mock the Mason's for all steps they needed to climb in order to reach the top, while the church required the same amount of nonsense for members to become enlightened and part of God's privileged "called-out" ones. Then at that point, the church began to instill the fear into members that they could never leave the church and if they did they would lose their salvation. What utter nonsense!
LCG Expositor has left a new comment on "Doug Winnail: God Is Watching You!":
LCG's practice of secret meetings stems from the old practice of WCG, where they tried to position themselves as an elite, sacred group. "We are the only ones who know the truth. The only ones God is working with on this entire planet. You can't just make yourself a member; God has to put you in. And we determine whether He is doing that. And once you are in this secret, elite group, it is so special you'll never want to leave, even if there is some abusive leadership. There's nowhere else to go. If you leave us, you're turning your back on God and on His selected leaders, and headed for the lake of fire.
As far as I know, Flurry and LCG still engage in this detestable behavior, although LCG has toned it down.
This practice started with the idea that "church" comes from "ecclesia" and means called-out ones. And we in the ministry get to determine whether you are called out or not. The problem is that while the word ecclesia is derived from "call" and "out-of", that is NOT what it means. Look it up in any Bible dictionary. Ecclesia means "assembly". Often an assembly of Christians, but not always. And nowhere in the Bible do we see any inkling of this arrogant exclusivity.
Greetings from Charlotte,
Everyone should now be home from the Texas Teen Camp that we shut down because of COVID—most likely the Delta variant that is sweeping across the world at this time. Both Carol and I, as well as others who were at the Texas camp, have come down with it. I took Carol to the emergency room per doctor’s orders, but she was not put in a room and was sent home after a long day sitting up.
It is truly remarkable how so many threads are coming together to present a picture leading to the end time and affecting some of our brethren here in the U.S., South Africa, and elsewhere. Leviticus 26 points out that when we come to despise God’s commandments, terror (terrorism) would follow. And following that would be wasting disease. This scourge of COVID has not gone away. And then it says in Leviticus that we will sow our seed in vain, for our enemies shall eat it. Mr. Gene Hilgenberg reported that there are shortages of food supplies, as he was having trouble getting some basic products for the camp. We see the western United States and Canada experiencing extreme drought conditions and high temperatures never before seen. Serious floods have ravaged parts of Europe and China. South Africa, countries in the Middle East, and parts of Asia are facing internal turmoil. See below for news about the situation in Haiti. We are now in a cyberwar with many bad actors disrupting basic services, such as water treatment plants. The big picture shows that this world is entering a time of trouble. Now is no time to fall asleep. While we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we need to realize that very difficult times are ahead.— Gerald Weston
Church of God News has this up:
Announcement from Gerald Weston, Living Church of God, 22 July 2021:
“By this time all of you are aware that we had to shut down the teen camp in Texas.
Tuesday morning we had a case of Covid from one of the ladies. We quarantined several of the ladies downtown in separate hotel rooms for several days as a precaution. One of those ladies, my wife, came down with Covid. The others seem to have escaped it, for which we are thankful that it was not any worse. The regular camp program began Wednesday morning. We seemed to be containing it, but then on Thursday and Friday we had several other cases … it seemed like there would only be about five total. Never the less, we could see a trajectory that, if we got into the next week, it could escalate significantly. It has, because some have come home from camp with it, so we know that more people were exposed, more people have caught the virus than we knew of for certain on Friday.
Friday I called a meeting for all our department heads and all our our ministers … We realized that either we take control of the situation, or this could get out and outside authorities could take control of it and shut us down, so we decided to shut it down ourselves.
We are not going to hide the fact that there was a Covid outbreak. We could have decided not to test and simply say there was some sickness, but the fact of the matter is it was Covid, we tested for it when somebody got sick.”
This camp in Athens, Texas, has also been utilized by COGWA, which had one report of Covid during camp, and by Church of God Assembly, which has not made any public announcement.
It has to be tiring to be a Church of God member anymore, especially being an LCG member. Always having to be on alert and anxious because God is watching their every move. The problem with LCG lies in the fact that if you do not do everything that they expect of you then their god will also not be on your side later on. The entire New Covenant is built around the concept that it was IMPOSSIBLE for people to keep the law and to be perfect. That perfection was granted through the NC to all who follow that Jesus. That enormous logbook of sins that COG leaders what to shame members into having has been filled with disappearing ink. It's no longer there.
Trials and Trust: Tests and trials are a major part of life. Our challenge as Christians is how we respond. Will we trust in God and follow His instructions—or will we give in to our emotions and respond in kind, or compromise and quit? To come through tests and trials, we need to remember that God says, “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28) and that He “will make the way of escape” if we trust and obey His instructions (1 Corinthians 10:13). Those instructions include “do good” and trust God (Psalm 37:3, 40), forgive (Matthew 6:14–15), don’t return “evil for evil” (Romans 12:17), be patient and not easily provoked (1 Corinthians 13:4– 5), endure and don’t compromise and quit (Joshua 1:6–9; Matthew 24:13), learn from the experience and grow (James 1:2–4; 2 Peter 3:18). We need to remember that God is watching to see if we will trust Him and obey (1 Corinthians 3:13–14). We also need to remember that God is looking to see where He can “show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). So, when tests and trials come, and they will, trust God, obey Him, and keep your eyes on this big picture.
Have a profitable Sabbath,Douglas S. Winnail
If only Doug and LCG truly believed this:
From a UCG member:
This is what Kubik posted on the member site about UCG children being infected with COVID at Pinecrest summer camp. Even after a large number of kids and camp staff were infected at that camps, he saw nothing wrong in driving more kids to another camp. Apparently, he does not believe anyone at the Woodland Camp will catch it or show up having it. The Delta virus is hitting kids this time around.
Bev and I are driving three teenagers to Camp Woodland in Georgia this week. Our teens are so happy to be able to have a camp experience this year after last year’s cancellations. We are aware that a number of staff and campers who returned from Camp Pinecrest tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, anyone who was at Camp Pinecrest, as well as anyone who has come in direct contact with someone who was at Camp Pinecrest, should NOT attend services this coming Sabbath. Please pray for the safety of our children for the remaining camp sessions that are and will be in progress.
(NOTE: Evidently not. That large and the Earth becomes confetti. Now one does have to ask, who first named it and how did he know? )
For a complete list of known exceptional planetesimals and asteroids that the author of Revelation had to choose from see:
("Wormwood" not currently listed)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_exceptional_asteroids#Landmark_names
Dr Thiel Continues...
And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.
And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.
The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them.
Dave Pack popped his prophetic white shirt last week when he lashed out at ex-members and ex-employees who got together to celebrate the 4th of July together. One of his ass-kissing young men on the payroll has been monitoring certain facebook pages of ex-member/employees to find any dirt he can report back to Dave with. Imagine living a life so petty and filled with such jealousy that this is what you spend your day doing so you can run and "impress" Dave. Little does this guy know that he will suffer the same wrath from Dave and be treated like dirt at some point in the future, just like the ex-employees and ex-members were.
Dave was incensed that these people all gathered together to celebrate the 4th of July. Imagine that! Dave really popped the buttons on his white shirt when he said some of these ex-members and ex-employees were CHRISTMAS KEEPERS! How dare some of these people associate with such heathens! Even worse, there were ex-members and ex-employees who were supposedly there from various splinter groups. How dare those people associate with Christmas keepers! Lord have mercy! Imagine a group of exRCG people enjoying a day of fun, friendship, and patriotism! What a damnable thing to do!
Dave was not happy that these people chose to gather on the 4th of July instead of waiting patiently for Dave's creature called "christ" to return on the weekend of July 17. Which it did not, as we all know.
So, now we wait for the creature to return this Saturday, but I have a feeling it will delay its second coming once again so it can watch the Olympics. After all, what would be more interesting....some creature return to Wadsworth to walk the hallowed ground of Dave's campus or watching the amazing abilities of world-class athletes in all their glory? Even JC knows the answer to that!
It's a strange thing. There's a group of people who recently who got together for the 4th of July, a week ago. Somebody showed me some pictures of them, and a lot of them are now Christmas keepers and a lot of others are in the splinters. And the one thing they had in common was that they had all been here (RCG HQ in Wadsworth, Ohio). But it was like there was no difference between them! Whether you are a Christmas keeper or you go to a splinter they are all right there enjoying the 4thof July together and they are happy to post it. Now I thought about some of the people who left us who would rather go send the 4th of July with CHRISTMAS KEEPERS, Easter, Halloween, who blew off all the laws of God and they wouldn't even say good-bye to us, never mind Thank-you, for anything. Well, there's a lot of actors out there who are stage players and God has to get rid of them. And if people will quit when there is no fire, Come now and have a great meal and you can have eternal life in a few days and they say, "No, I choose my field and my cows or my wife who is gonna be DEAD WITH ME!" Boy, oh boy! Shallow, actors! So we ended where we started. There are a lot of people who are like that. Many are called, few are chosen. Blessed are those and happy are those who come to the 1335 and are REALLY BLESSED is a tiny little flock and there was always for 2,000 years a tiny ongoing microblock, generation by generation who actually going to be blessed a week before the others and I think it'll happen God willing, within the next week!
Even nominal Christians know that the God of Scripture has a far better outlook about people's lives than Daves nasty vengeful god does. Dave needs all of the COG reprobates to die horrible deaths in order to be proven right while scripture states just the opposite:
MSG
Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.
NIV
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
NRSV
The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
KJV
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Christ was a son of God, one of the multiple sons of the Host, before his incarnation. He laid all that aside and became an human being. We cannot say Christ retained any part of himself in the Godhead or outside of himself. Paul quite clearly says here that Christ was designated son of God in power according to the Holy Spirit, by his resurrection from the dead. He laid aside his sonship to become a human in order that he might become the first son of God of the human species. That’s what the intent was. Nothing of Jesus Christ remained outside of his human existence. That is the doctrine of Antichrist. The doctrine of Antichrist teaches that Christ has some part of himself separate to his entity as a human being and somehow he retained some part of his divinity external to his physical existence. He did not.
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
The faith was then extended into the nations. It was the structure of the obedience of faith. Our faith is obedience to God and the acknowledgment that only God is True God. Our requirement for the inheriting of eternal life from John 17:3 is the knowledge of the One True God and of his son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not the One True God. The Bible is emphatic on that. It is quite clear that the obedience of the faith to the One True God, that is God the Father, God Most High, is the requirement for the receipt of the sonship on the redemption of our bodies, from Romans 8:29ff. That includes all who are called to belong to Jesus Christ from verse 6.
6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7 To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus we establish the Godhead in the first seven verses and the understanding of the faith of the One True God, and that Christ laid aside his sonship and became a human and received his sonship again from the redemption of his body at his resurrection. There is no existence of Jesus Christ outside of his humanity until his resurrection. To assert that as a fact denies the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and denies the totality of his resurrection, and is a doctrine of demons. The trinity is itself a doctrine of demons and from it two other doctrines flow.
This is the kind of idiocy that comes from crazy COG ministers and so-called Coordinator General's. But, what should you expect from apostate COG groups that deny everything about the historical and scriptural Jesus and the works he accomplished. It is no wonder that the so-called "christian" Churches of God are such a small group. Much like Bob Thiel's personality cult, Cox's cult claims half of the African continent as his members, and just a few white people are even interested in him other than some Missourians and a few others.
It is also too good to pass up when it comes to the official flag of Wade Cox's cult:
The CCG Flag is a white background with the Church logo centrally placed on the flag maintaining the church colours of White and Blue (heraldically argent and azure). We are required by Scripture to wear Ribbons of Blue on the corners of our garments to remind us of the Commandments of Almighty God (Num. 15:38). Therefore in accordance with the law we place two ribbons of blue on the top and bottom of the flag to remind us of the Laws of God, as embodied in the First and Second Great Commandments, and the Testimony or Faith of Jesus Christ and thus encompassing all the Scripture of both testaments.The flag has nothing to do with the flag of modern day Israel. The colours are similar because the colours represent the similar biblical concepts. It was not the basis for the CCG flag and differs in all other aspects including the symbols or devices and the placement of its bars.
please capture it. The LCG is still looking for it
Richard Ames has sent out a letter to the Living Church of God faithful and as usual, it is filled with fear and damnation that is swiftly approaching.
July 14, 2021
Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Weston are currently serving our Church youth in Athens, Texas, where about 240 teenage campers and staff are enjoying the Living Youth Camp. The Lone Star Camp grounds, including a lake, provide for many challenging activities designed to help the young people to “recapture true values.” Our youth are precious, and training them for potential leadership roles in the Church and community is vital for the future. We appreciate your prayers and support for the success of this intensive two-week program.
The Church of God, regardless of which entity is speaking, has made the comment for decades and yet, here we are in 2021 and NONE of them have recaptured ANYTHING! They still blunder along claiming they have the exclusive path to the "truth" and that God is on their side. Like their apostate bastard children, the Restored Church of God, Church of God Assembly, and the improperly named "continuing" Church of God, they all had the opportunity to recapture "true values" when they committed apostasy from the Worldwide Church of God. They all had a chance to start over and do things right. They did nothing of the sort. None of them decided to actually follow Jesus instead of the law. So here we are in 2021 as LCG has problems with its ministry and its membership.
Yes, youth are precious, but when COG's make their lives miserable and hellish with such absurd demands and doctrines that Christ does not even care about, LCG deserves to lose them. They have no further in the LCG and that is why so many are leaving. None of them have any business becoming ministers or leaders in the LCG! Their lives are more precious than that happening!
Meanwhile, after a year or more of lockdowns, public activities are increasingly opening across the United States, and sports stadiums are again filled with thousands of spectators. However, much of the world is facing dangerous variants of COVID-19. Just last week, because of rising COVID-19 cases, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, banning spectator attendance at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics (Charlotte Observer, July 9, 2021, p. 1B.).
And yet, LCG in its amazing wisdom decided to go ahead with summer camps and the result is multiple infections resulting in the entire camp of campers and staff are now in quarantine. So much for considering them "precious".
As usual for any COG letter to the faithful, the next step is to cause fear in the reader. Has any of the COG's ever decided to write a letter to their followers just to tell them how much they are appreciated? How God is pleased with them? How much Jesus is working in their lives? Have they ever written a letter talking about what an amazing thing grace and mercy are? The answer we all is a glaring NO! Noting is more important than scaring the crap out of members and then asking them for money.
As we see these sobering trends, we are reminded to watch for the future end-time ride of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who will kill one-fourth of the earth’s population (Revelation 6:1-8). We must be prepared for prophetic events leading up to the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22) that will suddenly shock the Western world. Be sure to read Mr. Weston’s Tomorrow’s World magazine article “Then Comes Sudden Destruction” (July-August 2019). Brethren, we must never let down our alertness and watchfulness in these end-times. We must always remember Christ’s words, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).While the U.S. economy may appear to be strengthening, in reality it is a proverbial bubble that will someday burst—and suddenly. I hope you saw Mr. Wallace Smith’s Tomorrow’s World telecast “The End of America.” One of the biblical curses he discussed was “Crushing National Debt.” The program featured the “U.S. Debt Clock” which at the time of this writing shows more than $28 trillion dollars in U.S. national debt. The current debt-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio for the nation is 107.60, indicating a troubling risk of default. Remember God’s warning, “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:43-44)
LCG still imagines themselves as doing some mighty work that is world-encompassing and so amazing that God himself is pleased by it. They need that god to be working on their behalf so that their members can have jobs and send in their money, for only a "while longer". Time is short!
We trust that God will allow enough economic health to support, for a while longer, His Work of preaching the Gospel. But the time will come when our warning the nations of this world will cease: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). We have a weighty responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission and to work with our whole heart while there is time. Jesus understood the signs of the times: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). We need the attitude of Christ, who said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
While LCG operates in this very short time, the world around them is collapsing. Death, famine, and disease are their focus. Not Jesus, but death, famine, and disease.
Many tragic trends remind us of the crying need for God’s Kingdom to come. More than four million around the world have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. A report by the United Nations World Food Program USA lists the hungriest nations—including Yemen, which has more than “16 million people—over half of the population—waking up hungry every day.” The report notes that conditions in Yemen are “a devastating reminder of what conflict can do to a country. More than two million children are severely malnourished, and 400,000 are at risk of dying without treatment” (“Over 65% of the World’s Hungriest People Live in Just Ten Countries. Why?,” April 23, 2021).
The UN reports sobering news of famine and starvation:
The dramatic rise in global food prices over the past twelve months, coupled with diminishing food stocks and escalating fuel costs, has gravely jeopardized global food and nutrition security, and has re-emphasized the critical actions needed to realize the right to adequate food. Hunger and under-nutrition are the greatest threats to public health, killing more people than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Each day, 25,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, die from hunger and related causes. Some 854 million people worldwide are estimated to be undernourished, and high food prices may drive another 100 million into poverty and hunger. The risks are particularly acute among those who must spend at least 60 per cent of their income on food: the urban poor and displaced populations, the rural landless, pastoralists and the majority of smallholder farmers (“Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day,” UN Chronicle).
If the LCG is so concerned about the undernourished and those "walking hungry" then why in the hell don't they do something about it? Let's see the Livign Church of God set the example for all the other COG's and give $1,000,000.00 to Feed The Children, Feeding Hungry Children, or to Compassion. They won't do this any more than they use 3rd Tithe to take care of the widows and orphans in the church. Members have to beg and plead to get even a morsel of assistance from LCG ministers.
Instead, Richard Ames praises LCG's so-called gospel message to the world and its literature as being good work.
As we preach the Gospel around the world, more and more people are being introduced to the Truth. The Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course is one of those tools through which human lives are being transformed. In the second quarter of 2021 (April through June), we sent out 35,593 copies of the first lessons, more than any previous quarter! If you have not yet subscribed, be sure to do so. Read this inspiring comment by a student from Wisconsin:
I have finished the 24-lesson Bible Study Course and I’ve learned so much. I never before really understood the statement, “Let he who has eyes to see…” Some of the scriptures I’ve read many times but didn’t really see what they meant. I have filled twelve ring binders with notes along with every scripture referred to in the study. Great job to all who put this together.
Writing down every single scripture in a COG course does not make one a Christian or one who has proven anything. This is all Ames has been doing for decades, speaking slick words that impress whichever COG group he is in and tossing around scriptures as if he knew what they were all about.
I know an elderly woman from a Protestant church down the street who knows the Bible inside and out, understands the role of Christ in her life, and who could knock down Ames and his self-righteousness in a matter of minutes. She knows the real gospel message, unlike COG leaders who should know better.
Sadly, many professing Christians neglect the Bible, though now is not the time to “let down.” Satan is increasing his attacks on belief in the existence of God, the veracity of the Bible, and God’s way of life. We must strive to submit to our Father’s and Lord’s instruction: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God’” (Luke 4:4). Our Lord quoted that scripture in His battle with Satan!
Sadly, many professing Church of God leaders neglect the bible and that inconvenient dude they claim to follow. Never fear though, that creature who is more powerful than the god they claim to follow is waiting on the sidelines constantly ready to devour "real" COG Christians. Satan has to be the most powerful creature the COG has ever followed. Jesus is an impotent wimp next to Satan.
Richard Ames offers hope to wayward LCG members. He directs them to trust in Jesus and to become followers of him read more LCG literature! Reading COG literature is the cure-all for everything!
If you have been neglecting your Bible, I urge you to determine to read, study, and research it daily. Set aside 15 minutes or a half-hour of your time—make it a daily habit. Always keep the big picture in mind: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,’ says the Lord. ‘But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word’” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
Next Ames highlights the mind-boggling work of the Living Church of God. Out of 7.9 billion people, LCG is sending its rag to 488,000 people AROUND the globe. Wow! I stand in awe!
You too should be in awe of this amazing work! So much in awe that you send them your money! Look at all of those open doors!
Our Tomorrow’s World magazine helps readers understand the Bible. Our August 2021 issue will be sent to 488,000 subscribers around the globe. Yes, God is blessing His Work. Your support is contributing to growth online, in print, and on the air. Please pray that God will inspire new viewers and open doors to new stations. And I encourage you to read the inspiring, motivating, and informative articles in every magazine, particularly Mr. Weston’s in the July 2021 issue, where he writes,
Ames ends with a cure-all for LCG members. Follow the law! No mention of following Jesus, but follow that law!
If God is real to us—and if we truly believe there is a reward for obeying Him—we will strive to keep His commandments. We will forsake the holidays of this world that put the name of Christ on pagan practices. We will keep His Sabbaths—the seventh-day weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths. We will allow nothing and no one to deter us from obedience to our Lord and Savior. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37-39). Yes, if God is real to us, we will put Him first, above all else! Those words come straight from Jesus Himself! (“Is God Actually Real to You?,” p. 8).
Thank you for your continuing prayers for the preaching of the Gospel. As you seek God wholeheartedly, claim His promise: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). And take comfort and joy that Christ’s prophecy is being fulfilled and will be fulfilled: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
In Christian love,
Richard F. Ames
Those fun boys learned how to live the high life when they were part of the United Church of God. Even after their apostasy from UCG, they continue to enjoy the finer things in life.
“Last weekend, for instance, the elite of cogwa gathered at the swanky, expensive and exclusive Cowboys Club (owned by Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys) for a secret meeting.”
Exit and Support Network has a letter up about some of the idiotic things Gerald Flurry said recently to the youth at Philadelphia Church of God's Summer Educational Program camp in Edmond, OK.
July 17, 2021
Gerald Flurry’s recent sermon entitled, “The God Family” was given to the youth at SEP. In it he made some wild over-the-top, even crazy, statements. Those who understand the false doctrines he is teaching, and the deceitful path he is on, will be able to spot this. Some of my comments are in brackets and in purple.
He started and ended with loud music. Beforehand, it was the Celtic Throne music, which began with drums.
At the beginning he did nothing but boast about the Celtic Throne performance, including the important people they had brought in. The CT performances are very important to GF and especially to his ego. He said the CT was “choreographed by God”; “inspired by God,” that this is one way the youth are “serving in the Work,” and it inspires them to “work even harder.” Astonishingly, he said the dancers “begin at age 4.”
In the mother church, under the auspices of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, the celebrities and important people they came into contact with were vitally important to them. It was proof that God was on their side. No one knew of any of these important, rich, celebrities that ever joined the church. Other than dishing out money for tickets and maybe sponsoring a concert series, these people never gave money to the church. That did not matter to them. Like Gerald Flurry, their egos were stroked by these celebrities while it was the membership that dished out millions of dollars in tithe money to fund the concert series.
According to GF, this CT performance is a “God family” message “showing the world how God’s family serves” and how God “brings them nothing but blessings in their lives.”
“We show them God’s way of life when they look behind the scenes.” [OK, let’s look at that scene. On the front we hear stirring, powerful music, spectacular lighting, dazzling costumes, young people Irish step-dancing across the stage, as they celebrate the “New Throne of David.” Then we pull the curtain back and what do we see? Destroyed families due to the no contact ruling, abuse, suffering, fear, control, exploitation, lies, unhappy children and young people. We see misery, sorrow, even death. Isn’t something very wrong with this picture?] [Note by ESN: To read more about all this see: Testimonies by Those Impacted by Philadelphia Church of God and letters.]
This is the same crap stance that the WCG took when they promoted the concerts as the best in human ability and artistry. This was supposed to be the way the so-called kingdom of God was going to be like.
In this sermon GF emphasized Malachi’s Message, the Laodiceans, and how “God’s Law is taught at the SEP” and “we have to get out a God family message.”
As usual, no message about Jesus, grace, justification, and mercy, just more law, and god/goddess crap.
“The Law is essential for this church to survive.” [Without the Law the members would find they are under grace and would leave. See: The Law of Moses and the Grace of God.]
As usual, Jesus is shoved to the back burner and only trotted out when necessary, usually around the so-called Passover time and even then, after they kill him again on the stage they leave them there for another year as they live miserable lives as sinners for another year.
“God is going to forget the Laodiceans’ children if they forget God’s Law.” [Won’t this crazy statement make the PCG youth, especially the children of top ministers, feel special and glad that they are part of an elite, favored group?]
This is such crap, but what should we expect from a cult that worships at the altar of Moses and blasphemes the Christ they claim to follow.
Over the top statement—> “We have to be God to be married to God. That’s an amazing truth.” [It’s also an amazing lie.]
[Note: For those who want to look into this “God family” doctrine, it is covered in our two Mystery of the Ages critiques.]
After quoting from Malachi where it says Elijah would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, etc., GF says the reason they have SEP is because God says (primarily says to the ministers but also to those who follow them), “If you refuse to teach that, you are going to lose your eternal life.” … “That’s very serious for you young people, and you have to understand this.” [Do the Scriptures anywhere say we can lose our eternal life? If we could, it wouldn’t be eternal.]
Only in Armstrongism can one lose one's eternal life for the silliest of things. It is an impossibility for anyone who follows Jesus. Christianity has understood this for centuries, but not Armstrongite COG's though.
Also, when has the Philadelphia Church of God EVER turned the hearts of the fathers to their children? What they've done is break up families and marriages due to the asinine and perverted teaching that PCG members are to cut off all contact with family, spouses, and children who have left the church. Who can forget them telling the mother of a handicapped child to leave it at the mall so the state could take care of it which would then allow the mother to give more money to the church! Disgusting people!
There was talk about how the hearts are being turned to the fathers, etc. [When have the children’s hearts been turned to the fathers or vice versa? See: Testimonies From Child Survivors.] GF has blinders on, just as HWA did, in thinking everything is so wonderful and marvelous with the young people in PCG. Isn’t it the children of the top ministers that claim all is wonderful?
Exactly! Its Flurry's grandkids and the elite children of elite PCG higher-ups that benefit from all kinds of privilege in the church, they are the only ones who benefit.
He says Satan has turned 95% of God’s people [now Laodiceans] away and “Satan can seduce you right away.” [Wouldn’t this make Satan more powerful than God? He read several scriptures in I John yet didn’t understand what he was reading.
Once again the all-powerful god of the PCG and the COG is able to turn people away from Flurry's so-called truth. When people are not at rest in the one they claim to follow and understand their security in HIm then of course they can be swayed by stupid ministers and church leaders.
Crazy statement—–> “Christ must be with your Spirit. … If Christ isn’t with that Spirit the Spirit won’t help you.” GF could not even understand Galatians 5:18 (which he read): “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” He quickly went right on to say, “If you don’t keep the Law the Law will break you.” [Where does it say that in the Bible?]
More law nonsense. Law is used only as a matter of control in the Church of God but what more should we expect when they deny the one who made a new covenant with the people. A covenant that does not include any of Flurry's law he claims is necessary.
He talked a lot about the movie Star Wars at the end and said if they (the youth) have the work ethic like George Lucas did, God is going to “bless their lives in ways like they could probably never imagine.” “If you really want to make it with God, you’re going to have to be a great servant. … an outstanding servant to God–to His Work, to His message, getting this message out.” [This would include giving their money to PCG.]
More legalistic bullshit. The new covenant does not demand endless works in order to impress God to save you by the skin of your teeth.
GF said he loved the music in Star Wars, but said it’s all fantasy. [Seems that what GF is preaching is fantasy] And we have to “proclaim this God family message.” After stating, “Let the real force be with you,” he played the theme of Star Wars loudly at the end.
Does Gerald Flurry speak the truth? Does he have the Holy Spirit within him? Or is he unregenerate, hardened to the suffering and evil he has caused and even allows? Has he given himself over to a reprobate mind? Has he been taken over by a lying spirit? Isn’t this what happens to those who claim they “speak for God,” have received “new revelation,” appropriate biblical titles for themselves that belong to Christ, and then go on to leave Christ Jesus out as Lord and Savior and the center of their message, and of the entire Bible, failing to focus on Him, but instead focus on fables and lies?
Does Flurry speak the truth? No!
Does Flurry have the Holy Spirit? No!
Is Flurry unregenerate? Yes!
Is Flurry a liar? Yes!
Does Flurry follow Jesus? No!
This warning has been given before. Get out before it is too late! –sermon critiqued by L. S.
Amen to that! Get out of the PCG ASAP! Your very life depends upon it!
Listen here: #39: Glynn Washington - The Worldwide Church of God
There is nothing nastier than COG ministers and leaders sticking their noses into COG member's bedrooms. Far too many of them seem to make it their goal to make member's lives as miserable as they can and controlling what people do in their bedrooms is their ultimate control.
Rod Meredith was the king of that in the church. He wielded a heavy hand when he was over Church Administration when he stuck his nose into thousands of marriages over the years. Far too many of them he broke up. Add to that his incessant need to talk about sex in sermons, bible studies, and in classroom lectures and you have the perfect meddlesome minister.
Now Bwana Bob Thiel is following in the steps of his spiritual daddy (Rod Meredith) and is now telling his 4,000 some African members and his 299 Caucasians what kind of sex to have.
Given that Bwana Elijah Thiel is such a theological nightmare in the crap that he teaches, would you trust him to tell you what you can and can't do in the bedroom?
He has released a "sermon" on sex and he thinks it is so sexual that it deserves a "parental discretion" advisory.
Sex and Marriage
Why is there sex and why is there marriage? Parental discretion is advised as to whether or not everything in this sermon is now appropriate for their children. Dr. Thiel goes over scriptures, “The Missing Dimension in Sex,” and provides answers to questions, such as:
- What did Jesus say about marriage?
- Are married couples biblically supposed to have sex?
- Is sex one way to express love?
- Does God have a purpose for sex?
- What are the reasons for sex in marriage?
- What are the purposes for marriage?
- How do humans differ from animals?
- Was sex really necessary?
- What are the divine purposes of sex?
- Why not fornication or adultery?
- Is marriage supposed to be a God-plane relationship?
- Are families intended as a God-plane relationship?
- How does reproduction picture spiritual salvation?
- What are the different types of love?
- What type of love should Christians have?
- Is oral sex allowed?
- Is anal sex prohibited by scripture?
- Should intercourse be avoided during a woman’s menstrual cycle?
- Is it appropriate to enjoy your five senses?
- Are Christian couples supposed to produce godly offspring?
- What about building character and God’s deification plan?
Today, Sunday, July 18, he pops back on with a sermon on birth control.
Can Christians Use Birth Control?
There are various views on birth control as well as various methods. Time magazine has covered some history of it (and even mentioned Casanova). Did Jesus make a statement that might be consistent with birth control? In this video, Dr. Thiel goes over some of that as well as some relevant scriptures. He also mentions positions of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Continuing Church of God. Dr. Thiel also provides some quotes from the book “The Missing Dimension in Sex” about this topic. He discusses methods of birth control and points out which are abortive and which are not. Timing, herbal, and barrier methods are discussed.
Always majoring in the minors and never in the grace-filled life real believers live in. Such a pathetic meddlesome little man.
