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Assembly Summary: The War Against God

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education 2021

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 53 seconds.

“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The Bible is outdated.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.

These are ideas that are prevalent in a society that is waging a war against true Christianity. Dr. Winnail asked the Living Ed students, “Where do these ideas come from—why are they here?” The first step in understanding the modern war against God is knowing where these ideas come from.

Know Your Enemy

The struggle is not a physical one—it is Satan’s fight to win hearts and minds and pit them against their Creator. Dr. Winnail said, “Modern cultural wars are more than just liberals versus conservatives—it’s a spiritual war.” And if we know who is behind this war, we can understand that, as Dr. Winnail quoted, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against… spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).

“Who are the warriors in these cultural wars against God?”

There are several recent figures instrumental in tearing down belief in God and the Bible. The renowned atheist Richard Dawkins has called creationism, “God’s gift to the ignorant” and religious faith, “the great cop-out.” Christopher Hitchens, a social critic and another antagonist against Christianity, believes the real axis of evil in the world is “Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.” Bart D. Ehrman, a New Testament scholar from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, is a prominent critic of modern Christianity, authoring numerous books that seek to discredit the New Testament and the Christian belief in God. James Tabor, a former teacher at Ambassador College, is another scholarly skeptic who had commented, “If you find the bones of Jesus, the resurrection is off.”

Yet, Dr. Winnail emphasized, these skeptics are “merely the latest versions of people who have been doing this for years.” In the 19th century, Robert Ingersoll said concerning the Bible, “It has lost power in the proportion that man has gained knowledge.” Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution planted doubts on the biblical account of creation. The philosophers, Voltaire and Rousseau, played a role in turning “cathedrals into temples of reason” during the Enlightenment. Even in the first several centuries A.D., many philosophers—Porphyr and Celsus, for example—were bent on discrediting Christ and the Bible.

Critics of the Critics

Yet these warriors against God are not without their critics. John Gray, an English philosopher from the London School of Economics, calls Dawkins closed-minded, saying, “His atheism is its own kind of narrow religion.” Peter Hitchens, brother of Christopher Hitchens, was also an atheist but returned to religious faith later in life. He is a sharp critic of his brother’s book, God Is Not Great. James Tabor has been called out for his speculation on the nature of Christ because his ideas are built on the shaky ground of the Gnostic gospels.

“How do you prepare to fight?”

Dr. Winnail turned to Ephesians 6:10-18 to conclude his talk. God gives His servants weapons for defending themselves. The students were inspired to “put on the whole armor of God…”  Christians must arm themselves with the spiritual belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword to fight for the truth in a world at war with God. Dr. Winnail encouraged, “Seek God’s help; win the war against God.”

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Forum Summary: Skilled People Have Choices

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2021

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 42 seconds.

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.

“God created us to work.”

God commanded man to work from Creation (Genesis 2:16-17). Parents ought to instill the value of work into their children at a young age. Mr. Stafford quoted an old Jewish proverb, “He who does not teach his son a trade teaches him to steal.” Traditionally, Jewish boys were taught some skill very early in their lives—often by the age of twelve. When pogroms and social persecution uprooted and relocated them, “they could take their skills with them.”  This is especially important if you are Sabbath keeper.

Don’t be a square peg in a round hole.

When he attended Ambassador, Mr. Stafford had no idea what career he wanted. Yet, he explained this is normal. As young people mature, they discover their abilities and begin to harness them in their lives. “Find out what that ability is and get your interests behind it.” Align your interests and abilities, for “much of your happiness in life will depend on whether you’re a square peg in a round hole.”

“Whatever you’re doing, if you have a mindset that your work is a paid education, you will become skilled.”

Mr. Stafford advised the students to wholeheartedly catch their organization’s vision. Work must be one’s study and passion. “People are not just overnight successes. They’ve probably worked on that one thing for years.”  Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”Treat work like your ongoing education.

Career or job?

Mr. Stafford defined a career as “a pursuit of a lifelong ambition.” On the other hand, “a job is an activity in which an individual can earn money.” While a job is short-term and competitive and doesn’t require one to grow and adapt their skills, a career is long-term, secure, and requires one to hone their skills and talents and be flexible. A young person needs to build skills that apply to their life-long aims and not just earn money. “I’ve seen this too many times—young people who have wasted their youth. It is a time when you need to build your foundation.” Mr. Stafford said, “You’ll find your education wasn’t lost time.”

“You’ll never get to perfection,” Mr. Stafford wrapped up, “you’ll always be improving—so do it with all of your might. You are working for God using the talents He has given you to serve.  Getting skilled and being diligent leads to a blessed, full and abundant life.”

Over the years, Mr. Stafford worked over thirty different jobs—from career counselor, sales engineer, and carpenter to cowboy in Colorado, roping, branding, and herding livestock. Yet, he said, he’s already submitted his request to God for his future work in the Kingdom. He said, “I want to be a tour guide, taking people to where no man has been and colonizing the universe!”

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Assembly Summary: Having the Heart of a Teacher

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2021

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 51 seconds. 

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.

Great teachers love what they teach and who they teach.

Love what you’re teaching. Developing a deep, loving reverence for God’s way of life is essential to being a great teacher. To develop that love, Mr. Hilgenberg advised the students to study, pray, and devote themselves to learning God’s laws. “You cannot teach what you don’t know” was a lesson he learned after years of teaching at Crowder College as an Agriculture instructor. Also, a good example is powerful evidence that a teacher truly loves what they’re teaching—not to mention a compelling tool for teaching.

Great teachers control their hearts.

Love who you’re teaching. While great teachers should love their students, Mr. Hilgenberg said teachers should control their hearts. A teacher of God’s way cannot let their passions and feelings have free reign but are to refine their hearts to “love the sinner and not the sin,” as the proverbial saying goes. Mr. Hilgenberg explained, “Christ treats us like lambs. He cares for us, and He loves us.” Just as Christ treats His servants like a shepherd tending his lambs, great teachers show compassion and caring to their students.

Prepare Your Heart.

Mr. Hilgenberg encouraged the students to take advantage of Living Ed to prepare to teach in their families, communities, and church areas. “You’re able to develop those leadership traits to go back and serve in your local congregations.” Yet, God’s servant’s future teaching role is that of a teacher’s in the Kingdom of God. Just as Ezra “prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach,” (Ezra 7:10) Mr. Hilgenberg encouraged the students to develop the heart of a teacher.

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Forum Summary: Biblical Scientific Proofs that Prove God Inspired the Bible

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2021

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

“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 on WebEx. For a young person establishing their faith, proving God exists is only step one—step two is proving that 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.

First, “The earth free-floats in space without observable means of support.”

Job 26:7 states that God “hangs the earth on nothing.” While this is physically provable in modern times, it defied common sense anciently. In ancient Norse religion, they believed dwarves sustained the earth by holding up its four corners. The Mayans believed their gods held the earth like a burden between them. Thousands of years in advance of modern science, God revealed the earth’s nature.

A second Biblical proof is that God created an expanding universe.

For millennia, people believed the dimensions of the universe were in a steady state—yet Isaiah 40:22 reads “[God] stretches out the heavens like a curtain.” The word “stretches” is a present-progressive verb denoting an ongoing process. Yet this fact was denied by many prestigious scientists, including Albert Einstein, until Edwin Hubble proved it beyond doubt in 1929.

A third point was, “The earth has more than enough water to cover the planet in a worldwide flood.”

Many scoffed at the possibility of a worldwide flood as recorded in Genesis. But in the last few years, scientists discovered huge reservoirs of pressurized water 250-400 miles underneath the earth’s surface. There are ocean springs that continually vent hot water. It is believed that there is more water under the earth’s crust than all the water held on the earth’s surface. Yet, God revealed “the springs of the sea” (Job 38:16) and the “fountains of the deep” (Genesis 7:11) millennia before man discovered them.

A fourth point was, “The Bible revealed ocean currents long before mankind discovered them.

Matthew Maury (1806-1873) noticed the scripture of Psalm 8:8 where “paths of the seas” are mentioned. Maury spent the rest of his life looking for and categorizing previously unknown ocean currents. He became the “father of oceanography” and proved the Bible scientifically accurate.

A fifth point was, The Bible reveals that the sun travels through space.”

Psalm 19:6 states: “(The sun’s) rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end….” Scientists ridiculed this verse for many years, because everyone assumed the sun was stationary and did not move. In recent years, astronomers discovered that the sun moves through space at the blistering speed of 600,000 miles per hour. It does indeed travel through our galaxy on a circuit, taking some 200 million years to make one complete circuit.

The Bible also reveals the fate of the universe. Dr. Fall summarized the second law of thermodynamics, “Organized energy always disperses in time… Mountains erode, stars burn out, and people die.” Paul hints at this in Romans 8:21 “… the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption [decay] into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

“The Bible reveals that the universe won’t disperse into cold, lifeless, empty space. God will use us to liberate the universe from its state of decay and finish the Creation—however He has in mind!”

Proving the reality of God is only the first step in solidifying your faith. Dr. Fall emphasized the next vital step—proving the Bible’s divine authorship. The scientific truths recorded in the Bible millennia before man discovered their existence prove that God inspired this book and compel readers to live their lives by its truths.

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Forum Summary: Only You Can Buy It

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 5 seconds.

“If you haven’t noticed already, we’re here to sell you something.”

Mr. Gerald Weston gave the last Living Education forum for the semester. He began by saying Living Education is trying to “sell” a better way of life. This is also the purpose for the Living Youth Programs. Society sells young people all kinds of lifestyles—all, supposedly, equally virtuous. “But,” Mr. Weston said, “God does something that the world doesn’t do. He says, ‘Look, there is a better way—choose that one.’”

“We have traditions here at Living Ed that try to teach a better way of life.”

The decisions students make at Living Ed have a profound effect on the following groups. Mr. Weston explained that through the examples of today, a pattern is set for the students of following years. Likewise, at summer camp, a camper’s children could be attending as campers themselves only 15 years later. Mr. Weston said, “We are looking for young people who understand and internalize our values.” There are certain qualifications needed above and beyond physical skills.

Character Qualifications

Mr. Weston listed several of those qualifications: Young people who set a good example by their language, social media use, financial responsibilities, and standards of male-female interactions. Mr. Weston explained that the programs discourage young people from pairing off and engaging in intimate physical contact. “We’re not against love,” he said. But there is an appropriate time to be exclusive—there is “a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing… a time to love” (Ecclesiastes 3:5-8). A young person’s example of handling male-female interactions determines their usefulness and trustworthiness in these programs.

“Trust is absolutely essential here at Living Ed and in the Living Youth Programs.”

Trustworthiness is at the core of these qualifications. Mr. Weston said, “If we cannot trust an individual, then we have no basis to work with that individual.” Yet, mistakes are expected. Mr. Weston said, “Mistakes will be made. And that’s okay.” But there’s a difference between honest mistakes and rule violations. He said, “Violations of rules bring loss of trust.”

“When you think about it, what is God looking for in you in this life? It’s trust.” Young people who can be trusted to uphold the traditions and values of the programs of the Living Church of God can be trusted to be good examples for younger teens in their formative years. Then, they become a part of selling the right way of life.

Mr. Weston concluded, “We can sell God’s way of life, but only you can buy it.”

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Assembly Summary: The Benefits of Marriage

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 15 seconds.

Mr. Wallace Smith, the Church’s executive editor, gave the Living Education assembly this week. Mr. Smith spoke about the benefits of marriage and encouraged the students to seek a godly, fulfilling marriage for their futures.

Sex is a blessing in marriage.

One obvious benefit is sex. One deception promoted by society is that two people must discover if they’re “sexually compatible” before they marry. Mr. Smith responded to this lie: “Only over time do you become compatible.” He recommended that young people prepare for marriage by “wiping clean from your mind any ideas about sex you’ve seen on a screen or anywhere else.” Only in marriage is “the stage set for sex to be the blessing it’s meant to be.”

In marriage, you are all in.

Another is commitment. Mr. Smith explained that our world has normalized a lack of commitment before and even during a marriage. But to God, it is a big deal. “The fact is that whatever is not according to God’s design is not normal.” A spouse should be someone who is all in and devoted to you for the long run, and there is a deep peace of mind that comes from knowing someone is that committed to you.

Marriage builds companionship.

Companionship is a third benefit. Contrary to popular belief, true companionship is built through journeying through life together—it doesn’t instantly occur with one perfect “soul-mate.” And after it is built, it will be utterly unique from all your other relationships. That uniqueness explains why it is so painful for someone to lose their spouse: “They’ve lost something irreplaceable. You can’t just replace a journey of 50 years.”

A godly marriage allows you to be vulnerable.

With companionship and commitment, marriage creates a safe place for vulnerability that one does not experience in other relationships. Marriage becomes a place where you are free to let down your guard, compared to how you might feel around others.

Other benefits of marriage Mr. Smith addressed included the blessing of children, for whom marriage is the God-designed environment, and design fulfillment—the satisfaction that comes from completing the picture God designed with man and woman at creation.

Ultimate Fulfillment

Yet, those who are not married can still achieve fulfillment through their relationship with God. In fact, Mr. Smith emphasized that even married individuals are ultimately only fulfilled by God and that expecting your husband or wife to fulfill you in a way only God can is a crushing burden not to be placed upon your spouse. But marriage is something young people should want in their future and be willing to pursue and prepare for. It is a source of many benefits and God uses it as a mechanism to reward His servants and to teach us about Himself.

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Forum Summary: Principles and Lessons to Prepare for a Future in God’s Work

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes.

Mr. Rand Millich has been a minister in God’s Church for over fifty years. He presently serves as the regional director of the U.S. Midwest. From 1963 to 1967, Mr. Millich attended Ambassador College. He noted, “I remember we had forums and assemblies presented at Ambassador College to broaden our education and horizons and prepare us for the future.”

Mr. Millich began by saying the Philadelphian Era was founded on three main pillars: Faithfulness to the Word of God, preaching the Gospel to the world, and a true understanding of God’s government (Revelation 3:7-8). These principles don’t just apply to one single era. He said, “These will be continuing defining aspects of God’s Work.” Mr. Millich gave us three lessons to apply in our lives.

First: “Base your life on the provable, unchangeable Word of God.” Mr. Millich quoted an Ambassador College motto that was stamped on the classroom center, “The Word of God is the foundation of knowledge.” Yet, as the Worldwide Church went off track, he said “Men of good stature —effective, powerful evangelists, got stuck on different issues.” They left the foundation of God’s Word.

The second lesson is “Don’t make rash life decisions.” Mr. Millich explained that many believed Jesus Christ was going to return in 1975. Some dipped into pension funds and others chose not to educate themselves. “There were some who married hastily, thinking that if Christ returned in ’75, they wouldn’t be married.” Unfortunately, some of these relationships ended in divorce. Mr. Millich encouraged the students to think carefully about their decisions. He said, “That decision might be with you longer than you thought.”

Third: “Count your opportunity at Living Education as special.” Not only do students have the opportunity to support God’s Work in various work studies, they can also learn from the examples around them at Headquarters. Mr. Millich recalled Mr. Armstrong’s example when he was in his class at Ambassador College. He said there was a telephone in the classroom so Mr. Armstrong could be reached in emergencies. It rang one day, and the students were silent as Mr. Armstrong received the news of President Kennedy’s assassination. After he hung up, he led the class in prayer.

Mr. Millich concluded, “I go back to the past for this reason: You have a similar opportunity today—these are the ‘good old days’ for you in your time. And they will prepare you for the opportunities God has for you in the future.”

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Forum Summary: Solidify Yourself When You’re Strong

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 51 seconds.

Mr. Michael Heykoop is the Media Director at the Canadian Living Church of God office. He is also the assistant pastor to seven congregations in Ontario. In the forum on December 8, 2020, Mr. Heykoop streamed, via WebEx, into the Living Ed classroom. He spoke about the Work out of Canada and the lessons he has learned from being part of it.

Unique Challenges

Mr. Heykoop began by explaining that, while Canada is often viewed as the “kid-brother” of the United States, it is a very different nation. He described it as somewhat “halfway between the Americans and the British.” It is more secular than America, requiring a different approach to broaching religious topics. For example, the Tomorrow’s World Viewpoint series addresses “issues in today’s society with Biblical concepts.” The Tomorrow’s World Answers series provides direct answers to often misunderstood concepts. “Our goal is to get enough of these so that when someone asks a question [in the comments] on YouTube, we can send them an Answers video answering that question.”

Growth

Most Canadian TV stations are required to have 35% of their content produced within the country. Mr. Stuart Wachowicz and Mr. Heykoop record these telecasts at the Church’s Canadian studio. The effectiveness of the Canadian program is apparent. Mr. Heykoop mentioned, “In the time that we’ve been on television, we’ve tripled the Le Monde de Demain subscription list.”

The Church is also growing in Canada. From 2000 to 2020, membership increased from 300 people to 874. Mr. Heykoop stressed, “The statement, ‘The Church isn’t growing’ is really a naïve statement to make. It doesn’t take into account the facts.” 60% of baptized members in Canada were baptized into LCG.

“God uses those who put everything into it.”

Mr. Heykoop shared several lessons he learned through being a part of the Work. One was: “God uses those who put everything into it… You know it is your job to give everything you have, but it’s entirely up to God whether it succeeds.”

Another lesson is to take advantage of the opportunities we have now to solidify the things we may know only in theory. He encouraged the students, “Solidify yourself when you’re strong, and when you’re at your weakest points, you can draw on that strength.”

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Forum Summary: So Little for the Mind

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 15 seconds. 

The Attack on Modern Education and the Implications for the Living Church of God

Mr. Stuart Wachowicz, evangelist and regional director of the Canadian office, spoke about the degenerating educational system of the Western world. For 200 years, the Anglo-Saxon countries led the world in education. Now, Israelitish nations exhibit increasing illiteracy, poor grasp of geography, math, and other basic subjects, and are trailing behind China and India. Also, more police are being stationed in schools, mental health workers are required, and there is an increase in drug-related disabilities.

Mr. Wachowicz described the origin of our educational philosophy and why it’s a problem for our country and a concern for the Church.

In her book, So Little for the Mind, Dr. Hilda Neatby explained that a man named John Dewey introduced progressivism into the educational system in the early 20th century. Dewey taught against direct teacher instruction and held that students should not have to be subjected to testing. He deeply resented God and religion in the classroom and believed that permanent truths should not be taught. According to Dewey, Mr. Wachowicz explained, “society is always changing, and morals must change with it.” This ungodly philosophy has since been adopted by schools across America and Canada.

“Whenever you run into an idea that seems to defy common sense or logic and yet is growing, I would suggest it is a spiritual issue.”

Today, in Canadian schools’ curriculum, there are only 20% of the knowledge objectives of 1970. Standardized assessment is reduced or non-existent, and “discovery learning,” where children construct their own learning, rules the schools.

Why is this important?

In the 17th century, the King James Bible was translated and made available to the English people. Mr. Wachowicz said, “England became the only place on earth that had a Bible in almost every home.” This brought literacy and a “huge, cultural advantage in education.” Then, the principles of the Bible were present in every home. “Israel has squandered the blessing—exactly what Esau did when he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup,” Mr. Wachowicz said.

The first implication for the Church is that our declining educational system is evidence of a curse.

“When you turn away from God and reject truth, one of the first casualties is wisdom.”

Second, we need to understand that we are preaching to a Biblically-illiterate population. “Fifty percent of youth in Canada may not have seen a Bible.”

Mr. Wachowicz expressed his belief that Israel is “past the tipping point.” He concluded in Ezekiel 2:3-6, “…whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Yet our speaker encouraged us, “We need to do our part in helping them understand right and wrong.”

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.

Assembly Summary: God, the God of ______ (Your Name)

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Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education Charlotte 2020

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 37 seconds.

Seven years ago, Mr. Jake Hall came to Charlotte to attend Living University. Mr. Hall now works in the TV and Media department as Camera and Video Editor. In his assembly, he asked us, “What is the most important assignment for you to complete here at Living Education?” The answer is: building our personal relationship with God.

Mr. Hall used the story of Jacob as a parallel for the stage of life we students are in. In Genesis 28, Jacob leaves home and begins the adventure of a lifetime. Before this, he had known God, as the “God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac” (v. 13). Now, he begins his journey to come to know God for himself. Living Ed students are at that point right now. Mr. Hall gave us two points to know God personally.

First, know that there are blessings and curses for obeying and disobeying. “Observe these consequences in your life.” Mr. Hall encouraged us to learn from these consequences and come to know God in our lives.

Second, know that God is your helper. “I remember how challenging LU was… I was challenged in ways I hadn’t been before in life.” He advised us to go to God for help, because, when we ask God for help, we build our relationship with Him.

Just like Jacob, we are embarking on our quest to know God as our God, not the God of our parents or anyone else. Mr. Hall concluded with Genesis 33:18-20. Jacob—or Israel by now—bought some land and built an altar, calling it, “El Elohe Israel.” This means, literally, God, the God of Israel.

“God was no longer the God he knew of, but the God he knew personally.”

Living Ed students are at the same stage in life as Jacob was when he left home on his quest. Over the next few months, Mr. Hall exhorted us to allow our Creator to become God, the God of _____ (insert your name).

This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.