Digging Deeper: The Greatest Nation
Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education Estimated Reading time: 8 min., 41 sec. Did you know that God intended ancient Israel to be the greatest nation […]
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Entries by Jonathan McNair
Assembly Summary: Today Matters
“Put your trust in God, and keep your powder dry.” – Oliver Cromwell
Dr. Richard Franz, the area pastor of the Illinois and Missouri congregations, said, “While trust in God is our ultimate duty, it doesn’t rule out our responsibility to work hard and prepare diligently.” In his assembly, he reminded the students of the importance of what they do today to prepare for tomorrow.
“If we’re waiting for the absolute perfect conditions to do something in life, it will never happen.”
Course Spotlight: How Do We Abide in Christ?
In some of our online courses, we have a “Student Thoughts” section where we ask a question to see what the students think. In Unit 4 of the Life Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ course, we asked the questions: How do we abide in Christ? (John 15:4) How do we allow God’s word to abide in us? (John 15:7) What does that look like in a practical sense?
Forum Summary: God’s Way Works
Mr. Stephen Elliot is the Area Pastor of New Mexico and Arizona. In his Assembly, Mr. Elliot shared with the students a broad sketch of what it was like in Ambassador College (AC) and the Worldwide Church of God. “I recognize that to you and even to me that’s ancient history, but I want to put it into perspective for you.”
Assembly Summary: The War Against God
“If God has opened your mind to the truth, you are going to be in Satan’s crosshairs.”
Dr. Douglas Winnail, the Director of Church Administration, began the Assembly with a PowerPoint slide with the following statements:
The Bible is outdated. The miracles of the Bible never happened. Moral absolutes are old fashioned. There is no ultimate purpose in life. You are stupid if you believe the Bible.
Forum Summary: Skilled People Have Choices
Mr. Rick Stafford is the Regional Director of the Caribbean and Area Pastor of South Texas. After studying geology for two years at the University of Oregon, in 1965, Mr. Stafford enrolled at Ambassador College. At Ambassador, Mr. Armstrong encouraged the students to not only prove God’s existence and His Way of life but also to learn skills. Mr. Stafford discussed the importance of skills in the Living Ed Forum.
Digging Deeper: Daily Benefits
Did you know that God showers us with blessings daily?
The year 2020 has been a year unlike any other in the memory of many people and one that most wish to leave behind rapidly. As a new civil year begins, their hopes are for a better year to come. The world has focused on the coronavirus, economic downturn, natural disasters, ethnic conflict, wars, terrorism, charges of election irregularities, political chaos, and many other horrors. Because of this many have been absorbed with life’s travails. For a change of pace, we will learn in this Digging Deeper that, despite all this, God supplies His people daily blessings. An old hymn admonishes us to “name them [blessings] one by one.” Let us remind ourselves of God’s many daily blessings that will help us concentrate on a broad perspective of the Christian life itself.
Course Spotlight: Seven Keys to Effective Prayer
Prayer is a vital part of maintaining our personal relationships with God. What are some steps we can take to make sure that we are praying effectively?
Assembly Summary: Having the Heart of a Teacher
Mr. Gene Hilgenberg, the area pastor for Southwest Missouri, Southeast Kansas, Western Arkansas, and Oklahoma, spoke via WebEx for the Living Education students on Thursday, January 7, 2021. Mr. Hilgenberg reminded the students in his assembly that they are preparing to be teachers. “That is our role in the Kingdom, if not now—to help others.” Yet teaching is more than just instruction. Mr. Hilgenberg said, “Our attitude is very important to God. How we think, what motivates and drives us comes from the heart.” God wants His servants to have a heart for teaching.
Forum Summary: Biblical Scientific Proofs that Prove God Inspired the Bible
“It doesn’t do you a whole lot of good if you’ve proved the reality of God but not the authorship of the Bible.” Dr. Jeffrey Fall, the regional director of the U.S. Western Region, gave the first Living Ed forum of 2021. He began by explaining that, for a young person establishing their faith, proving God exists is only step one—step two is proving God is the author of the Bible. Dr. Fall shared several scientific proofs in the Bible that predate their more recent acceptance as scientific truth.