Join COGWA as they are surrounded by beautiful Christmas carols, Christmas foods, and beautiful decorations as they learn to be "strong and of good courage"!
This year’s theme is “Be Strong and of Good Courage,” based on Joshua 1:9. Every follower of Jesus Christ needs encouragement to stay the course and never give up! Just as God knew Joshua and the Israelites would need great courage to enter the Promised Land, He knows we need the strength of conviction and courage to face the future. Come to the 2023 Winter Family Weekend, where we will focus on the inspiration, strength and encouragement God gives to us, His people, as we journey to His Kingdom.
23 comments:
" God gives to us, His people, "
What a load of crap!
This is the decisive hand grenade that the church has lobbed against all others whether in the other COG's or Christians outside the supposed one true church. Armstrongites are special! Armstrongites are called out! Armstongites are few in number but highly chosen by God! Armstrongites have the truth that was restored after 1,900 years! Armstrongites are one big happy family set aside by God.
In 2023 we know differently!
No one pays attention to the xmas happenings while vacationing with family and enjoying fun times, sports and friendship at these winter family weekends. It’s when families have time off from work and schools are on winter break which makes these wonderful times doable. Quit beating a dead horse with trying to make these events somehow wrong in ways they’re not.
Pagan Holidays or God's Holy Days – Which?
Both UCG and COGWA seem to think that putting their time, money, and energy into their Winter Family X-mass Weekend customs will help them to keep members and to grow.
It probably does not occur to them that their WFXW customs actually might be one of the reasons why they are not growing.
They should put more of their efforts into making the weekly Sabbaths and Annual Holy Days better experiences, instead of trying to create and promote their own customs based on pagan customs.
"...to stay the course..." i.e. send us your tithes, offerings, the 7 annual holy day offerings at the 7 feasts, etc. They don't know there are only 3 feasts-Ex 23:14-16; they don't know "times" does not mean "seasons"; they don't know the word "feasts" in Lev 23:2 is a mistranslation and should be "fixed, set, times" that include both feasts and the weekly and other annual sabbaths; they don't know passover/days of unleavened bread are only one feast of 7 days beginning on the 14th; in short, they have yet to learn how God celebrates and observes festivals!
But there's more money doin' it the UCG/COGWA/LCG/CCCG/CBCG/CGI/ICG/CGG/etc way.
These WFW tend to attract the younger members and family units from the various Churches. Is the relentless attack on youth and families an indicator of jealousy on this blog ?? Are you jealous of their youth ?????
Whoops...CGI do not believe in offering tithing for all the holy days. They only give offerings for three, it is the individuals freedom of choice to decide which ones.
Why hasn't "Miller Jones" pointed this out. Whoops ......
Speaking of CGI, I read the other day in their church bulletin that Jeff Reed had a nervous break down. He is the one who posted a lot of rebuttals here a while back. I wish him a speedy recovery.
There will be pizza, but no pepperoni or sausage. Sigh!!!
The COGs have always said that Christmas was pagan because it was close to the Winter solstice and close to Saturnalia. The website "As Bereans Did" has refuted much of the Christmas as pagan arguments.
But, why do the COGs feel comfortable having their winter celebrations on the same day and period as Christmas if proximity to the solstice was generally enough to condemn Christmas celebrations?
Now, some COGers might point out other elements like a Christmas tree (not pagan, but another topic). Yet, there are many that observe Christmas without the commercialized portions nor the decorative portions (tree). Would it be fine to a COGer for someone to celebrate Christmas without those elements while celebrating the coming of Immanuel? The angels rejoiced.
Anon1204,
That's a weird comment.
Prayers for Jeff Reed.
Bacon is the usual apostates drug.
I haven't seen it, but I've been told that COGWA makes a special effort to keep any Xmas images away from its WFW activities. So there are no Xmas trees, etc. around the meeting rooms at all.
But some WFW's are hidden fundraisers. Buy some swag for Church projects, beyond the expenses of putting on the weekend.
“Sorrows, sorrows, prayers” lol—In all seriousness though I do hope and pray Jeff makes a full and speedy recovery as this world breaks everyone’s spirit sooner or later and it’s only by the grace of God through Christ that we endure and overcome. Like the other saying, “What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger.”
I remember when I was in the Church traveling to Charlotte NC for the Christmas family weekend. I was traveling with two church members from a well known, well routed, and very popular and worshipped COG family. On the way to the weekend the one member told me that she absolutely loves Christmas trees as we were driving through the forest! Shouldn't surprise you much. When we got there the place was fully decorated of course and it was an expensive upper class hotel. When we arrived I had two other members for roommates. The member was always throwing wild parties in the middle of the night and inviting her guy friends over which I found very annoying. All I heard the whole time was noise all night long in the living room at crazy hours like 2am. We were looking to carpool to a sports event that I really didn't want to go to. She made a point to tell me that her friend doesn't like me lol. So I can't ride with them. Like I really care I didn't even know the freak she introduced me too. Such snobs. She just said this is so and so and that was it, I don't even remember her friend's names lol nor do I really care to. Such love in the Church of God for the "brethren" lol lol. Not. They are cold sociopaths. I remember the sermon being about how LCG members are forbidden to date members of other COG groups lol by Rod McNair the snob. Doesn't matter anyway because they are all a bunch of clowns I just hope the ones that are ignorantly there wake up and leave that man made false Church soon. All the money and time I wasted and all the traveling I did in the Church all for nothing. Thank God he finally woke me up! That's not God's Church whatsoever!
Don't believe a word of this comment.
Writes the ancient allegedly ex members of a by gone era.
Lol struck a cog minister's nerve 😂 truth hurts don't it you money hungry drunks lol. That's all they do at the Christmas weekend is run to the bar and get drunk right away! DRUNKS! 😂 😂
Feastgoer,
You said COGWA makes great efforts to avoid images that many Christians utilize in celebrating the birth of Immanuel. The angels rejoiced over His coming, so one can well imagine that it is good to do so. If Christians celebrate Jesus's birth during Christmas time without using those same images that COGWA apparently avoids, is COGWA's celebration of low-level sports bourbon, and some cogwa seminars superior to the Christians rejoicing over Jesus's birth sans the tree and mistletoe?
Seriously, why can the COGs get away with celebrations during Saturnalia and the winter solstice, but other Christians who celebrate Jesus's birth outside of those days cannot? Intent? But, Christian intent is rejoicing over Christ's birth (not anything pagan) and we know the angels did as well. Anyway, COG thinking lacks discernment and any form of consistency.
I find it hard to believe most of these comments are to be taken seriously.
"CGI do not believe in offering tithing for all the holy days. They only give offerings for three" -- when I attended CGI, they demanded offerings on all 7 holy days.
Christmas came about because the Catholic church wanted to attract pagans to their religion. Now COGs use Christmas the same way.
Free your mind,
In fact there were those in the 2nd century celebrating Christ's birth, before the catholic church. And this celebration was done amidst efforts and teachings to SEPARATE from pagan ways. They taught away from paganism rather than toward it.
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