Guidelines for Using Recorded Hymns

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What hymns from the LCG Hymnal may be played in Sabbath services, streamed, and played or special music?

  • If you are not streaming services, all hymns may be played during services.
  • If you are streaming services, the only hymn that you cannot stream is page 126, “Love Never Fails’.
  • You may stream any hymn (except page 126) for special music, provided that the hymn is not altered or re-arranged in any way. It must be played and sung as it is written in the hymnal.
  • Other than the hymns described above, you must mute all other music played for special music.

What about the redacted hymns on the www.cogl.org website?

  • The reason these hymns are redacted is because of the laws surrounding digital distribution. This is separate from the laws that govern streaming music. To restate what is said above, with the exception of page 126, you may play and stream any redacted hymn during services.

Pentecost Focus Unit

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Prepare for Pentecost by visiting our focus unit!

Our Pentecost focus unit is an excellent resource for centering your study on this special day. This unit gives an overview of the Feast of Pentecost, covering the command to keep it, how we know when to keep it, and the lessons we learn from this holy day. It begins in the Old Testament with the first Pentecost at Mount Sinai. It then moves to the New Testament, to the Temple in Jerusalem that is the stage for the dramatic events in Acts 2, and it concludes with lessons for us today. We encourage all to use this unit to concentrate on the Feast of Pentecost and sharpen your grasp of this significant day!

Here’s what is in the unit:

  • Pentecost and the Old Testament. This section gives 7 lessons from Passover to the first Pentecost. It also covers the foundational covenant at Mount Sinai, the importance of the wave sheaf offering, and the church eras of the Old Testament.
  • Pentecost and the New Testament. This covers the Temple, reviews the incredible Pentecost of 31 AD, and studies the gift of the Holy Spirit and what it means for us.
  • Lessons from Pentecost. Here, we cover the significance of the number 50, Pentecost and our family history, and a Psalm traditionally read at Pentecost.
  • Tools and Resources. This section includes graphic aids of scripture lists, details on the names of Pentecost, and more. These handy resources pack a lot of information in an easy-to-read format!
  • Voices of Experience. Here are five podcast style interviews with ministers. They share a key focus point about Pentecost as well as motivating stories of God’s Spirit working in His people!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James 1:17-18 NKJV

Pentecost—Voices of Experience

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Here is an inspiring section from our Pentecost Bible study course!

The Pentecost course has a few podcast style interviews in the section Voices of Experience. In these, we ask field pastors Pentecost-themed questions about their experiences with their local congregations. Here’s a look at the topics these discussions cover.

1. What is a key focus point that is on your mind to bring out to the members in your area in regard to Pentecost this year?
2. What is an example where you’ve seen the power of God through His Holy Spirit really working in your area over the past year?
3. In what way do you see the members in your area really reflecting the admirable elements of the New Testament church that we see recorded in the early days following the pouring out of God’s spirit in Acts 2?

Here’s what you’ll find in this section:

We hope you find these stories and experiences insightful and encouraging!

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:1-4 NKJV

Pentecost–what does it mean?

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The Feast of Pentecost course explains the meaning and importance of the name: Pentecost.

The Feast of Pentecost is less than a month away! If you want to see exactly how many days it is, see the timer on our home page. But with Pentecost coming soon, we are pointing to our online course to help in your personal preparation for this feast day.

Below, there is an Learn More that concisely coveys a lot about Pentecost, including whether the name means “count fifty” or not. If you’re interested in learning about the symbolic importance of Pentecost, you can also read the LCN article: The Symbolic Meaning of 50, by Peter Nathan.

This Learn More comes from the section of the course: The Feast with Four Names.

Podcasts

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Find all episodes for Brother to Brother and Digging Deeper on our podcasts page!

On July 7th, 2020, Living Education posted the first Digging Deeper podcast, A Lesson From the Ethiopian Eunuch, produced by Kenneth Frank. Since then, Mr. Frank has made 69 episodes, and Digging Deeper has surpassed 10,000 downloads!

On November 3rd, 2022, the first Brother to Brother episode, Leading by Helping, was posted. Already,
Brother to Brother has 18 episodes and almost 6,000 downloads! You can find both of these in our new podcasts page.

Here’s what you can find on our page:

LivingEd–Charlotte

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Learn all about our program at our LivingEd–Charlotte page!

The Living Education – Charlotte program for 2023-2024 is already nearing maximum capacity, but next year is nearer than you may think. We encourage young adults, parents, grandparents, and everyone else to explore the exciting Living Education onsite program. See how the 2023-2024 students will be kept busy in this nine-month, immersive program!

Here’s what you can find on our page:

Note: all links do work but some require you to scroll down to see the relevant information

Additionally, you can find forum summaries and student life articles on our blog.

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV

The Biblical Passover Course

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Now is the time to visit our course on the Biblical Passover!

This Bible study course is a befitting resource to help you prepare for Passover. This course offers a wealth of information as well as perspectives from six different ministers—including both Presiding Evangelists of the Living Church of God, Dr. Meredith and Mr. Weston. It will help you prepare for the Passover and find subjects for you to dig into in your personal Bible study as well. If you have not already, we hope you will take the time to enroll! If you have already, we hope you will review it anyway.

Here’s what is in the course:

  • Introduction by Mr. Weston. This introduction also features a video on Passover in prophecy and a related sermon by Mr. Weston.
  • The Old Testament Passover module. This sections features a lecture by Mr. Jonathan McNair along with resources covering the use of hyssop, when twilight is, the Night to be Much Observed, and more.
  • The New Testament Passover module. This includes a lecture by Dr. Meredith on the Passover and Crucifixion of Christ. Additional material covers foot washing, Christ’s scouring, the “three days and three nights” controversy, and more.
  • The Rise of the Counterfeits module. This has a short lecture on Passover terminology and also covers how Passover was morphed into Easter and other topics as well.
  • The Passover Today module. This four interviews—with Mr. Ames, Mr. Rod McNair, Mr. Wakefield, and Dr. Scott Winnail—that dive deeply into the importance of Passover to Christians today, each with their unique emphasis.

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NKJV

The Music Page

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Have you seen our music page?

The Music Page is an expanding resource that Living Education is offering for church members. It features recordings of special music—all with no copyright restrictions—and offers a sheet music request mechanism to rent music from the Charlotte Library on the Music Library page. Updates on the Hymn Project can also be found here. This resource is available for the benefit of all members!

Here’s what we have on the Music Page:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16 – NKJV

Start Your Bible Reading Plan Now

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As the year 2021 draws to a close on the Roman calendar, it is a good time to consider a plan to read through the Bible.

While we recognize that God’s Holy Days are reckoned by the Hebrew Calendar, nevertheless, our daily lives are more closely tied to the year beginning on January 1st and ending on December 31st. A reading plan that breaks down the Bible into 365 manageable segments can be a helpful tool in accomplishing the objective of reading through the complete Bible in a year. While you may have already read through the Bible, why not do so again over the upcoming year? And if you have read through the Bible from cover to cover as the Bible is arranged in our KJV or NKJV, why not do so using a different approach. To what am I referring?

The web site Blueletter Bible offers both printable PDF and handy online “checkoff” versions of “Read the Bible in a Year” schedules. In addition to the Canonical Plan, which takes you through the Bible according to the order of books in which we are familiar, they also provide the following options:

Canonical Five Day Plan – This takes the reader through the Bible according to our familiar order, but in two years.

Old Testament and New Testament Each Day – This schedule includes both a reading from the Old Testament and the New Testament each day. There is a one-year schedule and a two-year schedule with this approach.

Chronological Plan – If you’d like to read the Bible in the order of when the recorded events occurred, this plan schedules accordingly

Historical Plan – This plan schedules the daily reading according to the way in which the Old Testament is laid out in the Hebrew Bible, from the Law to the Prophets to the Writings. The New Testament readings are scheduled according to the order in which the books were authored.

While there are many different online and electronic Bible sites, Blueletter Bible provides a good options, and a downloadable app is available to use on a phone or tablet as well.

Finally, our own faculty member, Mr. Ken Frank prepared a “Read the Bible in a Year” plan with his wife for the congregation he pastored in Winnipeg many years ago. Here’s a link to his schedule.

Happy studying!

Jonathan McNair

Living Education Weekly — October 22, 2020

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Every week, we send out an email newsletter highlighting the latest Living Education posts.

Check out this week’s newsletter!