Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:
Greetings from Grover Beach, California.
There were some internet interference issues that came up this week that look to have been resolved.
Hope and pray you had a spiritually productive week.
YouTube
Although YouTube and its parent company Alphabet (AKA Google) continue to discourage people from finding our content, we still are reaching many through them.
We continue to get new YouTube subscribers to our videos. On November 21, 2025, we had 4,104 subscribers on the ContinuingCOG channel–this has increased to 4,165 as of April 27, 2026. This is the channel that has our sermons, offertory messages, and some of our less prophetically-oriented sermonettes.
As of November 21, 2025, we had 6,430 subscribers to our Bible News Prophecy channel. This has grown to 6,467 as of April 27, 2026. This is our main sermonette channel. Our Bible News Prophecy channel sometimes has a broader audience than the sermon channel.
While the growth was not massive, we continue to reach more people with the truth of the Bible.
Burundi Registration Step
As mentioned last year, the government of Burundi requires churches to be registered. Augustin Mpawenimana began the process for us.
Augustine Mpawenimana and Evans Ochieng
One requirement was having at least 500 congregants there, and Augustin Mpawenimana reported that we met that. That represents major growth for us in Burundi as we only had a couple of families there several years ago.
He also reported this week that we now have a temporal provisional registration for the Continuing Church of God in Burundi. So, that is an important step in the process.
There are still some other steps, but it is great news to learn that we have received this step of acceptance. My hope and prayer is that this will, one way or the other, be helpful for us in the region with members in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Like, perhaps, a Feast of Tabernacles site.
Feast of Tabernacles for 2026
Church services for the Feast in 2026 are to begin the evening of September 25th and run (including the Last Great Day) until sunset October 3rd.
Deacon Koang Deng sent the following emails:
Dear Elders,
Our brethren lives in camp start to build a praying hall in camp.
This hall will be a praying place for them and also for the coming Feast of Tabernacles.
And we all do plan that, the feasts will be celebrate together in that camp.
Please, pray for our brethren and families
Thanks,
Koang
Dear Elder,
The camp is now in Gambella city but it was settled in a district outside of Gambella city.
One full day trable by car.
Thanks for this reply.
Koang
Gambella is in Ethiopia. The above site is expected to have brethren from both Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The Feast of Tabernacles pictures a culminating event in God’s plan.
While all locations have not been finalized, for the USA we do have a contract to meet at the Thousand Hills Resort at 120 Wildwood Dr S, Branson, Missouri 65616.
What is interesting to note is that this was the only facility in Branson to respond to our request for a quote. Another item of interest is that my family stayed at this particular facility when we attended the Feast of Tabernacles in 1998.
Anyway, the cost per night (before taxes) is $99.00. This is substantially less expensive than some of the other locations we have held the Feast of Tabernacles in the United States.
Here is the booking link: Thousand Hills Resort Hotel.
You can also go on their website and put in the Group Code: 2609FESTAB and that will take you to the same place as above as well.
Of course, you do not have to stay at the Thousand Hills Resort, but many will find it convenient as well as probably the best location for fellowship.
Please send me an email if you plan to attend the CCOG site in Branson, Missouri. My email address remains: COGwriter@aol.com
We are looking at a location in Ontario, Canada as well as the Brisbane area of Australia–but those locations have not yet been finalized.
For a listing of planned and expected sites, check out the following link: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2026.
Start planning on attending the CCOG site that works out best for you.
Please email me to tell you where you plan to attend. My email address remains COGwriter@aol.com
Suggested Sabbath Services
Here is a suggested Sabbath day service for our scattered brethren and other interested people for this Sabbath service:
- 2-3 hymns (our songbook, The Bible Hymnal, contains the materials from the 1974 Bible Hymnal from the old WCG with new covers, plus ten additional hymns; there is also some Choral Accompaniment online).
- Opening prayer.
- Sermonette: Risks of Finding Noah’s Ark? Other sermonettes are available at our Prophecy channel on BitChute https://www.bitchute.com/channel/prophecy/
- Announcements (if any; though for many it will be this letter) and one hymn.
- The suggested sermon is: Be Ready with an Answer: 4 more Questions the World Struggles with, But the CCOG does NOT! Other sermons are also available at the COGTube channel on BitChute https://www.bitchute.com/channel/cogtube/
- Final hymn.
- Closing prayer.
Note: If you have a slow internet connection, you can watch these by starting the video, then below it (and towards the right) look for an outline of a gear–if you click on that, it will allow the YouTube video to be played with lower video quality, but at least it will not stop often–you can select a quality as low as 144p. If your internet connection is still too slow (as my home one is) and/or you prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played. This is an option we have made available (but we are also looking into ways to improve that as well)–and, of course, we have written article options. Some people have found that if their internet connections are not fast enough, that they can simply listen to the messages that are found at the Bible News Prophecy online radio channel.
IN CASE YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A ‘LETTER TO THE BRETHREN’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE MANY SERMON MESSAGES ON THE ContinuingCOG channel AND MANY SERMONETTE MESSAGES ON THE Bible News Prophecy channel. There are also some messages at the CCOGAfrica channel. There are also messages in the Spanish language at the CDLIDDSermones channel.
World News Items
The Bible teaches:
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, (Proverbs 13:22)
Yet, the world’s richest man, Elan Musk, thinks because of Artificial Intelligence, savings will basically no longer be necessary in 10-20 years because of the abundance that AI will provide (see Elon Musk says no need to save for retirement as Artificial Intelligence will create enough mass wealth). While the millennium is expected to start in that time period, it will be because of the Kingdom of God on this earth, not AI, that will be the source of the coming utopian abundance. Pray, as Jesus said (Matthew 6:10), for God’s kingdom to come.
The war in Iran and its ramifications have dominated much of the news. Fertilizer costs and availability and the impact on the food supply, particularly for poorer nations may result in food inflation, hunger, and areas of famine (see Fertilizer shortage expected to result in food shortages &, food price inflation. What about starvation and famine?).
King Charles III has been in the USA. The trip was at least partially intended to improve USA and UK ties (see UK hopes that visit by King Charles III will improve ties with USA and the Donald Trump Administration). On Tuesday, King Charles spoke before the USA’s Congress as well as met with USA President Donald Trump. The King and the President spoke of ties between the two nations and King Charles said he prayed their alliance along with their European partners would last–but biblically we know that it will not (cf. Lamentations 1:1-2; Daniel 11:39; Habakkuk 2:6-8; Isaiah 10;5-11; see also King Charles III stresses UK alliance with the USA and partners in Europe, but . . .).
Concluding Comments
Luke was inspired to record the following:
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37)
Remember that Philadelphia means loving the brethren. And that is not limited to only loving those in the Church of God, which is part of why we strive to reach others about the truth of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Sincerely,
Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer