When you heard that we shall explore together today the theme of worship many of you perhaps are saying: "What do you think we have been doing all morning?" Our bulletin even calls this time "Morning Worship Service." We have indeed been worshipping, but what may appear as worship to us, visibly successful in the eyes of men, may not be worship in the eyes of God. He sees and hears much more than we do.
their incense is detestable to me.
Surely these words indicate that God looks at a worship service differently than we do because he reads our hearts. These words reveal that worship is not something we do. Worship does not deal with what we make our bodies do, (either singing, kneeling, or praying), but worship consists of who we are, what our heart is feeling. This is the aspect of worship I want to explore with you.
It is startling to realize that everyone worships! Everybody! Everywhere! Worship is the fundamental drive of life. Atheists worship. Infidels worship. Skeptics worship. Even Republicans and Democrats worship. Lawyers, insurance agents, and even Internal Revenue Service agents worship! All people worship for worship is the fundamental difference between humans and animals. Animals do not worship. They have no sense of the beyond or of the numinous. But God has placed eternity in man's heart, as the book of Ecclesiastes tells us (Eccl 3:11). This urge causes men everywhere to worship. If they are not worshipping the true God, they are worshipping a god of their own composition. Worship, therefore, is a universal phenomenon.
The word comes from the old English worth-ship which means "to ascribe worth or value to something or someone." Clearly there are two forms of worship. From the Christian point of view there is true worship and there is false. The worship of all the peoples on earth fall into these two categories.
False worship, on the other hand, is to attribute worth to an illusion which is not really there, or which is not worthy. It is not worthy of worship because it is merely imaginary. In the ancient world, false worship usually took the form of bowing before idols or images. People created representations of gods, usually in the form of a human being or animal. Then they ascribed worth to it and regarded it as extremely valuable in their lives. They thought the god either helped them in causing their crops to grow or it protected them from some danger or evil. Thus they ascribed great worth to speechless images and idols. Sometimes they worshipped deceitful spirits. Without the help of a visible image, they nevertheless worshipped an invisible spirit-being. The American Indians did this.
In my study at home I have a portrait of three Blackfoot Indians on horseback worshipping the rising sun with their arms outstretched and their faces turned upward. They saw the sun as a spirit-being, and they also worshipped other spirits such as those of the mountains or the waters. They assumed that some being was there even though they could not see it.
That is the worship of self. Sometimes worship is expressed in bowing down to or looking to some projected exaggeration of a living person. We know how easily many make idols of actors and actresses, rock stars, and athletes. They imagine what they are like, and then ascribe worth to that purely imaginary image. It then becomes a driving force in their lives. Think of how many people are still worshipping Elvis Presley. The cheap tabloids even try to convince us that he is still alive by showing pictures of him at some shopping center or rock concert. This is a form of idolatry, for it is ascribing value to him which is totally imaginary.
There are many today who are caught up in the New Age movement and who worship invisible sources of power. They believe in strange spirit-beings that appear to them, they say, and give them advantages or special insights into the secrets of life. This form of worship is widespread. I offer these examples to show you that worship is indeed a universal practice. Everyone does it! The only question is: Are we practicing true worship or false?
It is apparent from this that worship is continually happening. It underlies every action and attitude we manifest. It colors all our life and goes far beyond a couple of hours on Sunday morning. Worship touches us all the time. Everything we do springs from our concept of what is important and valuable to us.
Since worship is the driving force of all human existence then when it is lost, whether it be true or false, life becomes dull, drab, and cheerless. Men and women ultimately sink into despair because life appears to be no longer worth the living. This fact alone indicates that worship is the most important and fundamental aspect of our existence. Millions today are turning to drugs because they have been disillusioned in the god they have been following, especially the god of their own selves. Out of their emptiness and absolute despair, out of their worshipless lives, they turn to anything that promises them a return of the feeling of significance. That is what drugs appear to offer them.
On the other hand, when true worship occurs, life becomes vital, real, exciting, daring, and adventurous. It is felt to be eminently worthwhile. Those of us who have learned to worship the true God know this is true. Worship is the foundation to all we do and say, and we find ourselves worshipping in some form or another all day long. It is clear, therefore, we must give close attention to what true worship is. How do we learn it? How do we practice it? To answer these questions we must turn to the Scriptures. I want to explore the nature of worship now, and next week we will look at some of the methods of corporate worship.
With these words, Jesus indicated the fundamental elements of true worship. God is a Spirit and so are we! We are spirits dwelling in bodies, which in the design of God creates a third entity, called soul. We have personality because we are spirits dwelling in bodies. Our human spirit is designed to communicate and interrelate with the Spirit of God. This is what Jesus means when he says we must worship God "in spirit." He is referring to our human spirit which is usually referred to in Scripture as the heart.
We talk about doing things with our whole heart. By this we mean our spirit is fully engaged -- we are functioning at the fundamental level of our humanity. We are said to be involved wholeheartedly. Therefore, to worship "in spirit" means that our worship must be genuine and heart-felt. We must mean it and feel it deeply. We must be fully committed to what we are doing as an expression of what we actually feel.
••• We can also express this truth negatively, as Scripture sometimes does. Worship is not to be phony or a put-on. It must not be mechanical. We ought not go through the motions of rising, standing, kneeling or praying without these actions reflecting what we are thinking or being. That kind of worship is unacceptable in God's eyes. It is a mockery. If we recite words that do not say what we really mean, we are insulting God and treating him with derision and scorn. In Isaiah 1, God was reading the hearts of the people who were performing an outwardly beautiful service, but their hearts were wrong, and their worship was not "in spirit." Therefore it was totally unacceptable to him.
It is clear in the Scriptures, from beginning to end, that the one thing God hates above everything else is hypocrisy. We do too -- in other people! We do not mind it in ourselves, but we do not like it in others. If we treat God this way in worship, he is deeply offended, just as we are when someone is hypocritical toward us.
The second phrase Jesus used in talking about worship was "in truth." This refers to our view of God. The God we worship must be the true God. He must be the God who actually exists -- the true and living God. This is the danger of films such as The Last Temptation of Jesus, which is now playing in our theaters. It draws a false picture of Jesus. It portrays a Jesus who never existed, a being distorted and even perverted. This film gives people the wrong impression of Jesus. Not only films do this; many books and sermons do the same. Even sermons about God can give a wrong impression as to what kind of a being he is. Any worship based upon these false conceptions is not "in truth." Our worship must be in line with what is actually there.
First, he reveals himself in the world of nature. Scripture tells us, and experience confirms, that we get a sense of God's wisdom, majesty, and power in the world of nature. You cannot study this marvelous universe -- with all of its complexity of design, its interrelatedness, and its universal manifestation of the same laws -- without coming to some comprehension of a Great Designer. There is a Mind involved in creation. It is incredible to me that some scientists who work in these areas never grasp this simple fact. Everything in nature is shouting at us that there is a Mind of great intelligence, wisdom, and power behind it. The majesty of God is visible in the beauty of his world, the lofty height of the mountains, and the roaring of the sea. These all evoke a sense of worship.
Second, God reveals himself in Scripture. The Bible is the most amazing book in the world. No other religious book has the qualities and characteristics of this one. Even though it has come from many different sources across hundreds of years, it presents an unusual manifestation of harmony. All of the books blend together and confirm each other. When you search deep into its pages, you discover that there are no errors or contradictions. Yet it speaks far beyond the understanding of the profoundest mind.
It is evident to anyone who reads the Bible carefully, and properly, that it is something greater than man could produce. God has spoken in his Word. It reveals his character, it tells us of his work both in creation and redemption, and it unfolds the great ultimate purposes of God -- what he is doing with the universe in which we live. We would know none of this without the Word of God.
There is still a third means of God's self-communication -- personal worship. When we take the facts of nature and the revelation of Scripture and begin to respond to them in prayer and obedience, this is true worship. Praising him, praying to him and ascribing value to him, do something to us. Our mind becomes illuminated and we begin to understand the words of his book more clearly. They sometimes glow with life and seem to leap off the page to grab your heart. We are enormously impacted by these great words of Scripture or even by standing on a mountain top looking out over a beautiful vista at a glowing sunset, we are moved by the majesty and greatness of God to know him in greater vision.
The basic nature of God is holiness. I do not know how you feel about this word, but for years I became uncomfortable whenever I heard it. I knew some people whom others called holy, and I found them to be very disagreeable. I came to associate the word with grimness. They were the kind of people who seemed constantly worried that someone somewhere was having a good time! But that is not holiness at all! Four different times the Scriptures use the phrase "the beauty of holiness," (1 Chr 16:29, 2 Chr 20:21, Psa 29:2, 96:9). True holiness is beautiful and attractive; it compels attention.
The word is difficult to define. Often it is defined as "separateness" and refers to something or someone who has integrity; who cannot be torn apart or easily manipulated. Holy people are strong and steadfast. Used of God, the term is the exact opposite of sinfulness. Sometimes the word is translated as "distinctiveness," or "uniqueness," or even "perfection." This is the meaning of God's holiness. He is a perfect being. All his attributes are in harmony and balance. There is nothing eccentric about God. He is flawless and remains so unchangeably.
That holiness becomes the ground of our stability. We are not dealing with a capricious God whose mood is different every time we come to him. We can trust God. Therefore, his holiness becomes the basis for our worship. It is such a beautiful holiness that it is awesome. Those who glimpse it usually fall on their faces in awe, and even fear. They marvel at such a glorious, holy God.
There is something very impressive about this scene. The Hebrew language has no words to express comparison. In English, we have comparative words such as "good, better, best" or "big, bigger, biggest." The Hebrews express comparison through repetition. Many times, in both the Old and New Testaments, you will find words repeated to express intensity or comparison. If the Hebrews wanted to describe great joy, they said "joy, joy." If they wanted to speak of great fear, they said, "fear, fear." Notice in the King James Version of the Bible how many times Jesus says "Verily, verily, I say unto you..." This expression is derived from his Hebrew background. He is saying, "What I am about to say is really true, true, true!" This is a high degree of comparison.
When the Hebrews wanted to express a superlative, they repeated the word three times. This only occurs twice in the Bible, both times in very interesting places. One is found in Revelation, Chapter 8 where John sees the judgments of God being poured out upon the earth. A great angel in the form of an eagle flies through the heavens crying out, "Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth!" (Rev 8:13). In other words, there could be no greater time of trouble, no greater woe could affect the earth, than during that time. The only other time this repetition is used is in Isaiah 6:3 where the angels cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy." Superlatively, they are saying, God is perfect! This perfection creates a sense of awe, and even fear, before him.
There is another characteristic of God in Scripture which is seen as frequently as his holiness -- his grace. Grace is God's love in action. This becomes the feature that draws our hearts to God. We read of his love in Romans 5:8 and 8:32: "God commends his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," and "He who spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" The more we read of God's love manifested toward us, forgiving us at infinite cost to himself, through much pain, agony, and sacrifice to satisfy the demands of his justice, the more we are drawn to him. We are able to come to him, not as suppliants crawling on our knees pleading for help and mercy, but as beloved children, as part of his family. We are cared for and protected by a tender Father's heart. This is God's grace as seen in the Scripture.
When we begin to see God in his holiness and grace, it strikes deeply into our hearts. We find that our worship, our response to him, becomes the driving force of our life. It touches everything we do affecting our actions, words, and attitudes. Such worship becomes the reason behind everything.
That is true worship! It is designed to remain in our hearts all through the day. If we believe this, it will color every single aspect of daily existence. For the true worshiper, God becomes the place to which he flees in times of pressure. In times of temptation, when he feels weak and assaulted, unable and uncertain, he runs to God in his mind and rests upon his great promises. From this base, he draws joy, calmness, strength, and courage to do what he needs to do, even though it may be painful.
Prayer is our occupation with our human needs and problems. We come to God with our needs and ask him for his supply.
Praise is the occupation of our minds with his blessings. We are thinking of all that God has done for us and give thanks for how he has blessed us.
Worship is our occupation with God himself, with the greatness of his being.
This is what many of our hymns reflect. When we say, "Lord, save me!" this is prayer. When we say, "Thank you, Lord, for saving me!" this is praise. When we say, "Thank you, Lord, for being such a great Savior!" this is worship.
"The moment you wake up each morning all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back, in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in."
He gives you joy in the midst of your life... That is worship.
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you so disquieted within me?" (Psalm 42:5a).
He is saying, "What is the matter with me this morning? I don't think I can handle this day." He keeps asking the question until he gets an answer. This teaches us how to get up in the morning.
I try to do this myself each day. When I get up, I usually take a shower first. While the water is pouring over my body, I pray, "Lord, cleanse me inside as well as out. Just as this water washes away the dirt of yesterday, Lord, wash away the mistakes, the loveless words, the hurtful thoughts that I entertained, the wrong things I did, the selfish attitudes I manifested yesterday. Help me to learn from them and to start out this day with a clean slate knowing that you are here to help me." As I eat breakfast, and visit with my wife, we pray, "Feed us with your Word and your thoughts. Feed us with the sense of the Lord Jesus who is the bread of life unto us. Give us this day our daily bread."
You can do the same thing. As you go to work, you can pray, "Lord, work through me today. Help me to be an instrument of yours." While you are working, you can send him arrow prayers, flashes of prayer -- all through the day, "Lord, guide me ... protect me." When the Internal Revenue Service calls to audit your account, your heart may sink, but you can pray, "Lord, what is going on? Help me." If someone asks a question and it is obvious there is something deeper behind it, you can say, "Lord, use me, help me." When you are coming home, thank him for your eternal home, your certain destiny, and for your home now with your loved ones who share it with you. As you go to sleep, sing a chorus of How Great Thou Art! The God of glory who indwells you and walks with you throughout the week is the basis for your very life. Therefore, worship him all day long.
If you do this, when you come on Sunday morning, and sing the great words of the hymns, and hear the words of Scripture, your mind will not wander. You will be so caught up in the expression of what is valuable to you -- the worth of the God you serve -- that you will give yourself fully in heart, spirit, and truth to him. As Jesus said, "My Father is seeking such to worship him," (John 4:23).
II. WHAT DID WE COME HERE FOR?
Last Sunday we sought to explore the fact that everyone basically worships. Worship is a human condition. The only question is: Are you engaging in true worship or false? True worship, of course, involves a God who is actually there, and who is worthy of worship. False worship adores an idol or an image of a god, an imaginary god, an illusion, something that really is not there; or if there, is not worthy of worship. But everybody worships in one way or the other. This morning we shall look together at what it means to gather in a corporate experience of worship. We are essentially answering the basic question: What did we come here for? Through the years I have observed many reasons why people come to church. I have been listening to them for well over four decades, and I probably have heard them all.
Most people come because they derive some personal benefit which they may be hardly aware of or which they cannot articulate clearly. They simply say, "I just like church. It helps me. It does something for me." That is rather vague, but nevertheless is an adequate reason for coming. We do many things on the basis of simple enjoyment.
Other people come because they feel a need for meeting people, for being with others, for socializing. That is not quite as adequate a reason as the above, but it is understandable because we are social creatures. We like to be where other people are, at least for most of the time. Some, I am sorry to say, come because they feel they have to. There may be some teenagers here who feel that way. There may be children present who would not otherwise come but their parents have made them come. I have to say that is not necessarily a bad reason. I had to go to church when I was a child, and at first I didn't always appreciate it. But later I began to understand what lay behind that demand. Although it should not be done with cruelty or with insistence against a very strong or determined will, nevertheless, it is responsible parental behavior to train our children to come to church and to bring them for that purpose.
Some like to come because they enjoy the music and the singing. They appreciate hearing people raise their voices in a harmonic expression of their faith. They like the words of the great hymns, or enjoy the music of a good choir. I greatly enjoy the singing of hymns. I feel they are a tremendous way to teach theology. I hope you do not ever sing hymns that you do not listen to while you are singing. It is amazing how many people enjoy hearing hymns even though they don't agree with the words. I met a woman once who declared herself an atheist and a feminist, yet she said, "I do go to church every once in a while because I like to hear them sing the 'herms' of the church." I told my wife afterward, "I hope she did not sing them too lustily lest she suffer from a 'himnia!'"
But at least some people come because they like the preaching. I do hope that is why you are here this morning. People say, "I do like to hear a good message. It makes me think." That is a good reason because the Scriptures are designed to make us think. They are contrary to the spirit of the age in which we live, so they make us face up to issues, and ask questions about things. This is a helpful reason for coming to church.
Some like the preaching, of course, because it makes them sleep! Someone has said that preaching is the art of talking in someone else's sleep. That may be true, although I must say that I have never observed much of that going on here. If the sermon is so empty of content that people drift off to sleep, I always feel that they ought either to arise greatly strengthened, or awake greatly refreshed! One man said that the sermons he listened to reminded him of the coffee can at home which had on it the words "vacuum packed!"
None of these reasons are really wrong (except the last one, of course). But whatever may be the reason you come to church, most people feel they come for a good reason and that their reason is the correct one. Yet, even then, there is a wide range of expectations of what a church worship service ought to be. If we tried to choose everything that individuals wanted in a service, we would be engaged in endless controversy.
Some want more ritual. People have said to me, "Why don't you ever sing the doxology?" or "Why don't you have the Lord's prayer?" or "Why don't we recite the Apostles' Creed?" I have no objections to these additions. They are wonderful expressions of truth if they are done meaningfully. Perhaps, from time to time, we ought to add them to our service because they are rich in meaning. But some people can't feel they have been to church unless they have recited something like that.
Other people say, "No, what we need is a different music style. I don't like all these guitars. What I want to hear is a great organ thundering away. Then I can really worship." Young people, in particular, urge, "Out with the organ! We like guitars. They are the Lord's instruments." We had an elder once who actually proposed that we have 200 banjos leading the service. Fortunately, his request was not carried out.
There are some people who like less formality in the service. They want to encourage the raising of hands when people sing or pray, and to feel freedom to do so. There ought to be such freedom because the Scriptures ask us to raise our hands at times unto the Lord. Some feel nervous about this, and are unused to it. It looks like they have signed an "arms limitation" treaty. There are various desires in this regard and it is difficult sometimes to walk a middle course, as you can understand.
Some want a shorter message. They think all services ought to end promptly at noon. Anyone who goes beyond that is virtually criminal. Some want a longer message. They want more exposition because they enjoy it so.
And my head a-pointin' down.
"God has set eternity in men's hearts," (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Deep within us all there is a cry for God. That is what makes us worship.
The first one is that we must come basically and essentially to honor and to praise God. God must be central in worship. We do not come for any other reason, fundamentally, than to express our praise and thanksgiving unto Him. As the psalmist puts it, "Give unto Him the glory due unto His name," (Psa 29:2, 96:8). God is our Creator. He made us. He fashioned us. He sustains us. We live and breathe because of his creative power. But more than that, he is our Redeemer. We would have destroyed all that he created, including ourselves, had he not found a way to solve the problem of our sin and guilt, to cleanse us and forgive us, and give us gifts of life, of truth, of insight and power which we would never have had otherwise. We come to thank him for those gifts, to praise him for his mercy, to express to him the glory due unto his name.
If this is not the fundamental element of worship, then the service quickly deteriorates. As many of you have experienced (as I certainly have), a so-called "Morning Worship Service" can become nothing more than a religious entertainment, a public entertainment. Today many people go to church services because they are entertained by them. They like the music, the snappy jokes, the clever comments made by leaders. It is almost like a theater where a stage play is being put on. But that is not worship, not in the biblical sense of the word.
Or perhaps a service deteriorates into empty and boring ritual, the same thing every Sunday. We know exactly what is going to take place. It is utterly predictable we will rise at this point; we will kneel at this time; we will bow our heads; we will say these words. It can all become nothing but an empty performance, and people go away as empty as the service itself was. Or it may be so man-centered, focusing on our needs, our desires, our feelings, that it becomes nothing but a narcissistic performance. That, too, does not satisfy the hunger of the heart.
Our hearts in one accord.
Some services may be characterized by a sense of grateful thanksgiving. Perhaps, we have been delivered as a nation from some crisis. I well remember after the Cuban missile crisis that many church services reflected a deep sense of a burden lifted, a peril removed, a danger evaded. We were, properly, grateful to God for that. Maybe it will be a local event that awakens our deep gratitude. Certainly, from time to time throughout the year, there ought to be opportunity for expression of God's marvelous goodness to us.
Sometimes a service should be characterized by a comforting sense of reassurance. If we, as a people, have been made afraid, or been threatened, we need reassurance; perhaps our faith has been shaken by some event. Many Scriptures are designed to quiet our fears and make us rest in God and know again that all will turn out well. That should be a repeated theme in many of our services in these troubled times.
Occasionally a powerful proclamation of a truth that addresses itself to the conscience will leave a congregation stirred, excited, and galvanized into action by a worship service. Or a service may feature a giving of honor to someone, the recognition of how God has used a man or woman as an instrument of his grace. We had a case of that this morning with these grade-school boys who shared with us about running a race. We recognized their accomplishment, and it was delightful.
Whatever the nature of a service, it is determined by the events we are passing through as a congregation, or by the Scripture passage to which we have come and the theme that it gathers around; or by some obvious, evident social problem or need that we need to confront and have the light of the Word of God applied to it. But no matter what the theme, it all ought to be centered on God -- God's power at work, God's character as the fundamental basis of our lives, God's work of redemption, God's wisdom in applying it in so many different ways far beyond our ability to perceive. That theme, whatever it is, ought to flow through the music, the prayer, the Scripture, and culminate at last perhap in the preaching event.
Preaching ought to be the climax always of a worship service because it is the time when the preacher, presumedly at least, is acting as the voice of God—he is giving us the mind of God about our lives, our nation, and our problems�whatever they may be. Preaching, therefore, ought to be that kind of an insight and event. This has been well expressed by our dear friend, John R.W. Stott, one of the great preachers of our day.
Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the reading and preaching of the Word are actually indispensable to it. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed, it is their unnatural divorce which accounts for the low levels of so much contemporary worship. Our worship is poor because our knowledge of God is poor. And our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the word of God is expounded in its fulness and the congregation begins to glimpse the glory of the living God, they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before his throne. And it is preaching which accomplishes this. The proclamation of the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God -- that is why preaching is unique and irreplaceable.
I would say a hearty "Amen!" to those words.
Now the second element that worship must contain, if it is to be worthy, is that it must involve a recognition of the body of Christ; and an opportunity to grow in knowledge of one another, of our needs, our problems, our hurts, our pain, our distresses, our joys, and our thanksgivings. There must be a time when we enter someone else's life who is sitting beside us. We must grow in unity, in a sense of belonging, of caring, and of loving one another. That is why we make time for you to greet those around you. We do not want anyone to feel lost or lonely, or a stranger in our midst, that no one talks to them or cares for them. This is the commonest complaint about church services. Folks go away and complain that no one spoke to them. They may say, "I have been going to that church for weeks and no one has even asked my name, or said a word to me." That is a failure of worship!
Worship must include the body of Christ. We belong to each other. We are part of a worshipping congregation together. I believe that the motivation to do this is awakened by the worship of God. You see this all through the Scripture and you often see it in human experience. When a congregation worships God truly, they also begin to be concerned about each other. When you love God, you will begin to love your brother. John points this out in his first letter. He says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love," (1 Jn 4:8 NIV). We are so designed that we express our love for God by our concern for each other.
Remember what Jesus says in that great passage in Matthew 25 where he describes the events that will ensue when he comes again. He will sit on his glorious throne and gather before him all the living nations which he calls "the sheep and the goats." Sheep are true believers and goats are apparent believers, but not real ones. He is going to distinguish between them, to separate the goats from the sheep. How does he do it? The test is, what did you do or not do to each other. He will say, "Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me," (Matt 25:40). What does this mean? By helping others you have worshipped God. That is the test of true religion.
Notice the elements of worship there. Preaching and teaching -- "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom as you teach and admonish one another." Then there is singing -- "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," sharing together in a mutual expression of faith through a song or a hymn. Then there is serving -- "Whatever you do in word or deed, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus," serving one another in that way. That ought to be a part of every worship service, a recognition of our unity in the body of Christ.
The third element essential to true worship is to recognize afresh the ultimate end of relating to God and relating to each other. What is that purpose? What does worship prepare us for? The answer is -- to serve the needs of the world! The church is here to teach and bless and help the world. God's ultimate objective is the world -- this unredeemed society around us, these people without faith who are stumbling blindly through life and destroying themselves in the process. There is plenty of hurt also in the church, but there it is being cured and corrected in order that we might learn how to help people out there, in the desperate conditions of life.
Remember that wonderful scene in Isaiah 6 where Isaiah sees the greatness and glory of God, high and lifted up with his train filling the temple. The angels bow before him, crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy." Isaiah falls on his face and declares himself unworthy, "Woe is me, for I am undone! I have a dirty mouth. I am a man of unclean lips!" And God sends an angel with a burning coal to cleanse his mouth. After that, Isaiah says, "Lord, here am I. Send me!" (Isa 6:8b RSV). That is what worship ought to do for us. It ought to make us ready to say, "Lord, here am I. Here is a need that I am aware of in our community. In my neighborhood there are people who are hurting and need help. Here am I. Send me!"
That is why we take an offering in church. It is not just to pay the expenses of the church, although it does that. It is designed to permit you to share the ministry that reaches out to those in distress around us. That is also why we pray for each other. It is why we hear reports of missionary activities, of various local ministries -- to inform us of where people need help -- because we are being equipped to help them.
First, does worship help me experience God's presence in beauty and power in a manner true to his word? Am I in touch with the real God? You can have worship experiences that do not reflect the reality of God. They often reflect God in a perverted or distorted way. They may minister to your emotions, but they do not teach you anything about the real God. A true worship service ought to send us out feeling that we have been standing in the presence of the real God. We know something more of his greatness, his mercy, his compassion, and his love.
Second, does worship foster a sense of unity in the Body or does it damage it? Do I go out feeling closer to my brothers and sisters, more understanding of them, or do I go out angry and upset at them, ready to cut them off and have nothing to do with them? The purpose of worship is to increase the love and unity of the body.
Third, does worship motivate me to take practical steps to help others? Do I feel stimulated, motivated, to do something about the woman down the block who has no one to help her with her shopping? To help that young teenager in our neighborhood who is causing so many problems? Could I talk to him, not to bawl him out but to be a friend? Whatever the need may be, am I motivated to meet it?
That is true worship. Worship ought to do that for us. Ask yourself: Do I get help in these areas? Do I understand more about the greatness of God and his mercy and his love? Am I stirred to gratitude because of what I have heard? Do I sense a close companionship with other believers? Do I see them, struggling as I am, to work out various problems. Do I want to do all I can to encourage them and help them? Am I stimulated to do something practical this week to bring this all about, to help someone, to serve and to minister to those who are in trouble in this troubled age?
That is what true worship is before God.


text:
Govt permits 100% FDI in oil PSUs approved for disinvestment; to aid BPCL sale
July 30, 2021 by admin Leave a reply
The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment. The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL).
According to a press note of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a new clause has been added to the FDI policy for oil and natural gas sector.
"Foreign investment up to 100 per cent under the automatic route is allowed in case an 'in-principle' approval for strategic disinvestment of a PSU has been granted by the government," it said.
The decision regarding this was taken by the Union Cabinet last week.
Two out of the three companies that have put in an initial expression of interest (EoI) for buying out the government's entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL are foreign entities.
The FDI limit in PSU-promoted oil refineries will continue at 49 per cent — a limit that was set in March 2008.
As of now, the government is selling the stake in only BPCL. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest, is the only other oil refining and marketing company under direct government control.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is now a subsidiary of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
The government had in March 2008 raised the FDI limit in oil refineries promoted by public sector companies from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
The firm acquiring the government's 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL will also have to make an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent stake from other stakeholders at the same price, as per the takeover rules.
Mining-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta and US-based private equity firms Apollo Global and I Squared Capital's arm Think Gas are in the race to buy the government's stake in BPCL. RR ABM ABM
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/govt-permits-100-pc-fdi-in-oil-psus-approved-for-disinvestment-to-aid-bpcl-sale/84879527
← Amaravati: Petrochem plant hits Viability Gap Funding block Hermes becomes largest UK parcel company using NGVs, with 160 units →

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I would like to do a concert using my Steinberg USB audio interface. Do I need any extra software or special AV card to do that?
What if I also wanted to use an upgraded USB camera? Was looking at some older FAQ's and it looked like doing these things would add complications beyond my IT abilities. Hoping it might be easier today.
I do have a laptop with quad core processor and an older (2012) MacBook on which I run Garage Band and Logic 10.
Here's some information for you. Let me know if you have any questions.
Connecting an external microphone and camera is another way in which many artists have broadcast on Concert Window. This method works well if multiple performers are involved or if you're looking to upgrade your setup. We recommend the following equipment. And don't forget, you can do a test broadcast at any time to experiment with equipment and make sure everything is looking and sounding good.
Audio from a mixing board, pro setup, or XLR microphone input: Try the iRig Pro ($120) interface. It's super easy to use, portable, and sounds great.
Another easy way to get audio into your computer is via a line-in cable. Just plug in, pick your input, and go.
Important: Running audio through software such as ProTools or Logic before going into Concert Window can often result in delay in your audio. We advise against this, unless you're using line-in for audio, which should work without delay.
Video from a pro camera setup: Concert Window fully supports RTMP broadcasting, which accommodates software encoders like Flash Media Live Encoder, Wirecast, and Open Broadcaster Software; and hardware encoders like the Tricaster. You can find your show's RTMP information on your Broadcast page.
Important: You cannot connect DSLR or pro cameras to your laptop for live broadcasting without the use of a capture card or capture device such as the Blackmagic Intensity mentioned in this blog. Concert Window's technology will fully support multi-camera inputs via RTMP, but we cannot offer specific support on such broadcast setups given the range of hardware out there.


text:
Home > Browse-Composer > Kahane > Bradbury Studies - Score and Parts
Kahane
Bradbury Studies - Score and Parts
Composer: Kahane
Bradbury Studies is a deconstruction of the song "Bradbury (304 Broadway)" from the 2014 album The Ambassador (Sony Masterworks). The piece was commissioned by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and received its world premiere on August 9th, 2014 in a performance by Brooklyn Rider at the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival in Bridgehampton, NY.
A recording is available on an album titled The Fiction Issue, which can be streamed here.
Extra scores can by purchased here.
26.2 - Score and Parts
Come On All You Ghosts
String Quartet No. 6 - Score and Parts
Orinoco Sketches - Score
Piano Sonata


Chart of the month - How to assess the risk of an equity portfolio today?
Chart of the Month – How to assess the risk of an equity portfolio today?
How to assess the risk of an equity portfolio today?
Calculating the beta has traditionally been a good way to assess the risk associated to a stock in a portfolio. The beta measures the sensitivity of the stock price to a market index. The higher the beta, the higher the amplitude of the stock price with the market on both long and short sides. In theory, having a portfolio of low beta stocks should protect you more in terms of downside during a market correction.
The issue is that, as shown in the table above, the 5 Year Trailing Beta for most sectors has significantly changed over the last 3 years. With technology disruption in action in almost all parts of the economy, some companies which belong to defensive sectors are now more vulnerable with less strong barriers to entry. Healthcare and Consumer Staples have seen the highest increase in terms of beta whereas Telecommunication Services appear as among the less risky sectors to invest in today!
The reality is that beta is only one statistic to look at and other parameters like factors and styles have more explanatory power to performance today. Momentum was the best performing factor by far until the last quarter of 2018 which saw a huge reversal. To make the story even more complex, the beta of factors are also less stable over time and record factor correlation explains the poor returns of quantitative and risk premia managers last year.
At Notz Stucki, we are well aware of factor exposures and correlations when managing our equity portfolios. But the first question we ask ourselves when we analyze a company is do we want to own this business and is it able to generate good long-term compounding returns over the years.


Quis dubitet, vasti quae sit natura Leonis quasque suo dictet signo nascentibus artes? Ille novas semper pugnas, nova bella ferarum apparat, et spolio vivit pecorumque rapinis. Sicui per summas avidus produxerit undas ora Leo et scandat malis hiscentibus orbem, ille patri natisque reus, quas ceperit ipse, non legabit opes, censumque immerget in ipso. Ingenium ad subitas iras facilisque recessus aequale et puro sententia pectore simplex.
Who can doubt the very nature of the enormous Lion, and dictate each of the skills of those born under its sign? The Lion is always picking new fights and fresh battles with other beasts, and thrives on the spoils and pillaging of the herd. The one to whom the ravenous Lion has shown his face through the uppermost waves as it climbs the vault of heaven with its gaping jaws, he will be the thief of both his father and his sons: taking his inheritance for himself, he will leave no such prosperity behind, as he engrosses himself in his own wealth. The Lion's nature is equally prone to sudden rage as well as quick retreat and the sincerest intention is found in his pure heart.
For "Zodiakos,", the final concert of their 2002 season, The Esoterics commissioned twelve Washington State composers to create a suite of a cappella horoscopes from the ancient poem, Astronomica, by the first century BCE poet Marcus Manilius. The composers were asked to set verses for their own star sign.
Leo was named as a Finalist in the 2007 Cincinnati Camerata Composition Competition.
I don't think that Leo is a particularly difficult piece. You can view the video Greg made to accompany the recording as a memorial to his cat.


text:
'''This package has the url encodings for the :mod:`funding` model.'''

from django.conf.urls import include, url

from projects import views

urlpatterns = [
    url(r'^new/?$', views.FundingCreate.as_view(), name="funding-new"),
    url(r'^(?P<title_slug>[-\w\d]+)/edit/?$', views.FundingUpdate.as_view(), name="funding-edit"),
    url(r'^(?P<title_slug>[-\w\d]+)/delete/?$', views.FundingDelete.as_view(), name="funding-delete"),
    url(r'^(?P<title_slug>[-\w\d]+)/?$', views.FundingDetailView.as_view(), name="funding-details"),
    url(r'^$', views.FundingList.as_view(), name="funding-list"),
]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Franchises for Sale in Grand Island, NE
Discover business opportunities, in or around Grand Island, with well-established brands, who are looking for people like you to help them grow.
As of the 2010 United States Census, Grand Island, located in the Cornhusker State, had a total population of 45,801 people. This makes Grand Island the third-most populated city in the state of NE.
City Statistics and Other Information About Grand Island
From a total population of 45,801, Grand Island has a median age of 35. The average age of males, in Grand Island, is 34.4 while the average age of females is 35.8. When you compare this to median age of Nebraska, Grand Island is 1.2 years younger.
The median income of individuals, in Grand Island, is $23,221 while the average household income is $46,527. When comparing the median income of people living in Grand Island to the rest of Nebraska, the average income in Grand Island is $4,118 less.
ZIP code 68801-68803
County Name Hall County
Explore Franchises For Sale in Nebraska Now


text:
UNG IDI uniforms
Ww2 German Uniforms 2018: Army OCP Uniforms 2019
The Army Ocp uniform has undergone some changes in the years since its original design.
Now that the Army is transitioning to the new Uniform Program, it looks like it will continue to be an important part of the uniform program for decades to come.
The Army has two new uniforms, the OCP and the Army P.A. Uniform, that are available for purchase in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
The OCP is a black, medium-length military uniform with a navy blue collar, with white trim, a dark blue shirt collar, and black piping.
The Army P-A-Uniform is a brown military uniform.
Both are available in both the standard and medium sizes.
The Navy is offering a pair of Navy Blue Army Pops, and the Air Force is offering two Navy Blue Air Force uniforms.
The two Navy uniforms are available to purchase for $90, while the Air force is offering one Navy Blue uniform for $80.
The two Army uniforms are similar to the Army's other uniforms, and they share the same sizing and the same design.
The only differences are the colors of the shirt collar and the colors on the pants.
The OCP uniform features a long, black collar that reaches up to the ankle.
The collar is made of two separate layers, a collar band that runs from the middle of the collar, to the top of the shoulders.
The cuff is made out of three separate pieces.
The collar band is lined with white piping.
It has a red-striped, three-inch white stripe running from the center to the bottom.
The pants are also black, with a blue, white, and navy color scheme.
The pants have white trim on the left and right side, with navy trim on both sides.
The P-Univ.
uniforms are slightly different than the Army uniforms.
They are the only two Army uniform that feature the same style and color scheme, although they do not have the same overall color scheme as the Army uniform.
The P-Ups are the Army-wide version of the P-Ops.
The Navy pants are a dark navy blue with navy-blue trim, which runs the length of the pant.
The bottom of the pants is lined in navy blue, with blue trim along the bottom of both sides of the leg.
The pant is made from two separate pieces of fabric, each piece of which is lined separately with navy blue trim.
The lining is white and blue-colored, with two contrasting stripes running down the side.
The belt is made with two separate straps and a black buckle, with the bottom edge lined with navy white.
The piping is a dark, navy blue that runs the entire length of each pant.
Both the lining and the stitching are white.
The piping is lined.
The zipper is lined and is white with navy gray trim.
The shirt collar is a navy gray.
The white piping is not lined.
The knee cuffs are a navy, blue, and white with two piping on each side.
The knee cuff is not white, but is lined instead.
The thigh cuffs have a navy white lining, with one piping on the bottom and two on each thigh.
The seam allowance on the top and bottom of each thigh is also white.
On the right side of the front of the knee cuffed pants, there are a number of white, black, and Navy blue buttons.
The blue and navy blue piping on this side of each button matches the piping on all the other side of that button.
The top of each leg has a black stripe that matches the navy white piping on that leg.
On each leg, there is a blue stripe that runs down the middle.
There are also a navy-gray line that runs up the side of every leg.
The edges of the piping are lined with black piping that matches both sides on the right and left.
The front of each knee cocked pant is lined, and both the white and navy piping are lining the front, and a navy grey line runs up and down the front.
The back of the knees cocked pants are lined.
Both Army and Navy pants feature the Army Army POPS logo on the front and Navy Navy POPS on the back.
The logo is a three-line, double-stitched stripe that spans from the upper right of the waistband to the middle belt.
The double-striping is a single, white line that crosses the bottom line of the stripe.
The stripe is one line high on each leg.
Both the Navy and Army uniforms have a white lining on the waist, with black trim on all of the legs.
Both pants have navy piping, but the piping is different on the Navy pants and the Navy uniform.
The military pant is the Navy-wide uniform.
It features a navy lining on both the inside and outside of the upper leg, along with navy piping along the top, middle, and lower legs. The front
What You Need to Know About New Bengals Uniforms
Which NFL uniforms are worth a look?
How to get the new Brown uniforms
Which New York Uniforms Will Get the Most New Jersey Fans?
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カジノイン
© 2022 UNG IDI uniforms | Powered by Superbs Personal


Winter can be a beautiful time. The way the snow blankets our landscapes is calming and picturesque, snowboarding and skiing make for great outdoor adventures, and witnessing the joy of a child sledding or playing in the snow is a remarkable thing.
However, it can also feel tragic and spur misery for some. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), what some might refer to as the Winter Blues, is a very real thing. People can slip into a depression during the winter season and it can afflict anyone. It's a form of depression triggered on by the change in seasons, and about 4 to 6 percent of people suffer from it – it becomes as high as 20 percent when you account for mild forms of the disorder.
Unfortunately some people tend to downplay SAD's detrimental effects on someone's wellbeing. It limits people's ability to enjoy their lives and properly function during the season.
The largely suspected impetus for SAD is the lack of sunlight throughout the winter. It drains serotonin levels, a brain chemical that plays a critical role in mood regulation. Counteracting the Winter Blues means finding ways to boost serotonin.
A good starting point is introducing more light to your day. Light therapy, which mimics natural outdoor light, can be effective. Purchase a light box for your home or office that provides the bright rays capable of elevating serotonin levels to combat diminished light. And when the sun is out, get outside. Yes, it's cold, but bundle up and go for a walk. Spending at least 30 minutes outside a day might offset seasonal drops in serotonin. A tranquil walk through snow-covered woods can be a major morale boost – it's such a pretty sight!
Exercising, which is a good year-round activity, becomes exceptionally critical during the winter months. Aerobic exercise can boost serotonin and keep it elevated for hours following a workout. It gets you up and moving, alleviating that down-and-out feeling. Weight gain is a common trait when stricken with SAD, so exercise definitely helps combat that as well.
Maintaining a regular sleeping schedule also helps during this time. People afflicted with SAD experience troubles sleeping at night and waking in the morning. A regular sleeping schedule exposes you to light at consistent and reliable times. Sleeping during the day, during the short time there is light, compounds the issue.
While a night in on the couch enjoying some Netflix sounds like an ideal winter night, remain social. Don't solely be a shut-in. Mental activity, like physical activity, is important. Conversing with others can help subside those somber thoughts associated with SAD. Surrounding yourself with friends and the ones you love can go a long way.
And if it comes to it, don't hesitate to seek professional help. Your mental wellbeing is important, don't overlook it. Talking with a professional can prevent something more serious from developing.


text:
Q: How to Solve Wamp Server - 3 Showing Code Instead of Execute in Windows? My wamp server showing source code instead of excute?

Any help?

A:
Just go to : 127.0.0.1:8080/dashboard/phpinfo.php in your browser url bar

or

127.0.0.1:8080/?phpinfo=1 using wampp

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Error : Weblogic Maven Plugin deployment i want to use weblogic-maven-plugin in my maven project in eclipse so i generated weblogic-maven-plugin.jar in weblogic server 12c 1.2.1 and i am using it.
    <plugin>
    <groupId>com.oracle.weblogic</groupId>
    <artifactId>weblogic-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>12.1.2.0</version>
    <configuration>
        <adminurl>t3://weblogicServerIP:7001</adminurl>
        <user>weblogic</user>
        <password>weblogic123</password>
        <targets>Cluster-1</targets>
        <upload>true</upload>
        <action>deploy</action>
        <remote>true</remote>
        <verbose>true</verbose>
        <source>${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}.${project.packaging}</source>
        <name>myProject</name>
    </configuration>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <phase>install</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>deploy</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

But i have a problem about weblogic maven plugin. if i built my maven project in my local to deploy, built is failed;

The args for the deployer is: -noexit -adminurl t3://weblogicServerIP:7001 -user weblogic -password ******** -deploy -name myProject -source myProject.war -targets Cluster-1 -upload -remote -verbose
weblogic.Deployer invoked with options:  -noexit -adminurl t3://weblogicServerIP:7001 -user weblogic -deploy -name myProject -source myProject.war -targets Cluster-1 -upload -remote -verbose
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD FAILURE
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time: 1:04.013s
[INFO] Finished at: Mon Jan 13 10:27:27 EET 2014
[INFO] Final Memory: 9M/23M
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ERROR] Failed to execute goal com.oracle.weblogic:weblogic-maven-plugin:12.1.2.0:deploy (default) on project myProject: weblogic.deploy.api.tools.deployer.DeployerException: Unable to connect to 't3://weblogicServerIP:7001': weblogic.security.utils.KeyStoreConfiguration. Ensure the url represents a running admin server and that the credentials are correct. If using http protocol, tunneling must be enabled on the admin server.

i enabled tunneling of server protocol but there is nothing to change in this error.
By the way i run this cmd which is below in weblogicServer cmd line, i didn't get error message. Finally my deployment was succeed.
java weblogic.Deployer -noexit -adminurl t3://weblogicServerIP:7001 -user weblogic -password weblogic123 -deploy -name myProject -source myProject.war -targets Cluster-1 -upload -verbose -debug

By the way i extracted weblogic-maven-plugin.jar and i didn't find KeyStoreConfiguration.java. i didn't find anywhere.
So what should i do? is there a newtwork problem or weblogic-maven-plugin.jar is faulty?
Could you help me?

A: The problem is in the class weblogic.security.utils.KeyStoreConfiguration is required by the plugin but is not found on the classpath.
You can add the relevant jar file to the classpath like so
        <plugin>
            <groupId>com.oracle.weblogic</groupId>
            <artifactId>weblogic-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>12.1.3.0</version>
            <configuration>
                <adminurl>t3://${deploymentServer}:${deploymentServerPort}</adminurl>

                <user>${deploymentUsername}</user>
                <password>${deploymentPassword}</password>

                <debug>true</debug>
                <upload>true</upload>
                <action>deploy</action>
                <remote>false</remote>
                <verbose>true</verbose>
                <source>${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}.${project.packaging}</source>
                <name>${project.build.finalName}</name>
            </configuration>
            <executions>
                <execution>
                    <phase>install</phase>
                    <goals>
                        <goal>deploy</goal>
                    </goals>
                </execution>
            </executions>
            <dependencies>
                <dependency>
                    <groupId>com.oracle.weblogic</groupId>
                    <artifactId>wlfullclient</artifactId>
                    <version>12.1.3-0-0</version>
                </dependency>
            </dependencies>
        </plugin>

See these instructiions for generating the wlfullclient jar


Discussion in 'Discussion Topics' started by sunilkon, Apr 12, 2019.
Looking for 2-4 acres agriculture land around Kunigal/Solur/Kudur for agriculture purpose. Lease or sale would be considered. Water source is required.


text:
Mainly clear. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..
Mainly clear. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Sgt. Shawn Radmall helps middle school teacher McKenzie Wilson with her gun. Wilson said she will not carry a gun at school until she is 100% prepared and trained.
Courtesy Laura Giles
Teachers taught by Utah County Sheriff's Office how to de-escalate, shoot if necessary
Laura Giles Herald Correspondent
This is the second in a four-part series of articles detailing the experiences of Laura Giles and other participants in the Utah County Sheriff's Office Teachers Academy.
Two skills that may save lives in the event of a school shooter were taught to the participants of the Utah County Sheriff's Office Teachers Academy during the second week — de-escalation and using a firearm safely.
De-escalation tactics
When an active shooter bursts into a classroom, there probably is not time to converse and reason. But, in case there is, and as a means to decrease the likelihood of agitated individuals getting to the point of violence, the participants in the Utah County Sheriff's Office Teachers Academy learned de-escalation tactics.
Lt. Jeffery Jones, a hostage negotiator with the Sheriff's Office, led us through different ways of getting a volatile person to listen and reason. This might come in handy in cases of highly upset students, parents or even co-workers. The techniques he taught us could be useful in everyday situations — not just in cases of violence. After all, many students come to school carrying a lot of stress and hardship from their lives with them.
"If you don't have a gun, you better be really good with your talking. That's where this would come in," Jones said.
The first thing to get someone to do is to breathe.
"If I am negotiating with someone, I say, 'You're nervous. I'm nervous. Can you take a breath with me?'" Jones said.
"People want to be treated with respect," Jones said, something that he has learned as a law enforcement officer. "They want to be asked, rather than told. They want to know why. They want to know their options. They want a second chance," he said.
The goal, according to Jones, is to get the person from resisting to listening. Listening, empathy, asking questions, paraphrasing and summarizing all come into play.
"De-escalation is often before the person goes to get the gun," Jones said.
Guns in school
"Your concealed firearms permit is not just for you. You can use it to protect others," said Detective Justin Mortensen to our group. Some brought their own guns to class, some already carry guns at school and some don't feel comfortable carrying while teaching.
Despite the differences of opinions about carrying guns and varying levels of shooting proficiency, we all took a concealed carry course, taught by Mortensen, as part of the academy. Many completed the necessary steps to gain a concealed carry permit, if they didn't already have it.
"The primary cause of gun-related accidents is ignorance or carelessness," Mortensen said. Even if the teachers do not wish to carry guns now, they may wish to do so in the future. This course helped us to learn the laws and regulations regarding carrying a concealed firearm and ways to carry and use safely, including how to load and unload safely, storing guns safely and inspecting ammunition.
Many teachers in the group were interested in carrying firearms while teaching at school. But, they realize the importance of being trained thoroughly. Others are obtaining their concealed carry permits, but are undecided about carrying firearms or are not planning to carry now, but maybe in the future.
There is a lot to think about after this class — whether or not to carry a gun in order to protect our students, learning to use a gun, how to carry it, where and how to store it and developing muscle memory so it can be used in a highly stressful, terrifying situation.
Utah County Teachers Academy: We won't lie down and die
This is the third in a four-part series of articles detailing the experiences of Laura Giles and other participants in Utah County Sheriff's O…
Shooting, sexual solicitations make up June's 10 most-read Utah County crime and court articles
Sex crimes, homicides make up May's 10 most-read Utah County crime and court articles
Sexual abuse, fraud top April's 10 most-read Utah County crime articles
7 crimes with Utah County ties featured on television
12 of the most notorious murderers with ties to Utah County
Arson at church, infant abuse among March's 10 most-read Utah County crime articles
Attempted homicides and UVU shooting top February's 10 most-read Utah County crime articles
Murder charges and abuse: January's 10 most-read Utah County crime articles
Community pays tribute with words of honor for family of Master Officer Joseph Shinners
Homicide sentencings and sexual abuse top December's most-read crimes
Photos: Public safety officers take part in ice diving exercises
Photos: Look inside the new courthouse in downtown Provo
Photos: Salgado family visits where missing woman's body was found
Photos: Family of Elizabeth Salgado arrives in Utah


Bronz'o shimmer body oil is a delicious dry body oil that will give you a sheer shimmering glow and transform your body into a sun goddess. Packed full of rich proteins and vitamins to hydrate your skin. Apply a small amount and rub into body for that faux glow.
can be used to enhance your tan or to give you a little hint of colour.


There's no point in denying that the Klipsch community is full of DIY efforts. Sure, they violate our warranties and sometimes go against our acoustic principles, but goodness, some of the stuff we see from is downright awesome.
We have previously shown you a DIY effort from Klipsch Forum member Jonathan Wood who created a Frankenstein-version of the Klipsch KPT-904 cinema speakers. This time, we're turning to fellow Klipsch Forums member Steve Bedard who created a similarly monstrous speaker that utilizes a K-402 horn and borrows elements from the elusive Klipsch Belle speaker.
For years, Bedard had friends who were pushing the Klipsch La Scala speakers on him and he understood why.
Of course, speakers like the La Scala and Bedard's creation are BIG. He originally thought that such speakers would be far too large for his dwelling, but after gaining more experience and doing some research, he decided to play around with his home system.
He has been tweaking his system for eight years now, focusing on Klipsch modifications for the past three years and hasn't looked back.
His first effort was a Bob Crities "CornScala" (a hybrid of the Cornwall and La Scala), which Bedard loved.
After that, he decided that he wanted to build speakers with separate low and high frequency components so that he could try out different combinations of horns, drivers and woofers.
Bedard didn't jump right away into using the K-402, though. He started off using parts from the CornScala and then a K-502 before finally landing on the K-402.
This turned into a winning combination for Bedard.
Of course, his creation is admittedly not perfect.
Physically, the speakers work for Bedard as well, noting that the plywood aesthetic works with his décor. Obviously, you can't miss these speakers when you walk into the room. They certainly stand out.
All in all, the project took five months of work and he even had to join a co-op workshop. After all, Bedard lives in Vancouver, Canada, which is an extremely expensive city where affordable space is an issue.
Now, was all of the effort worth it? Obviously, for Bedard, the answer is "yes." In fact, Bedard isn't done experimenting with this design. He is going to take the lessons he learned from this effort but use a Cornwall-style bass bin instead of one modeled off the Belle.
DISCLAIMER: While we love these DIY projects from Klipsch fans, it should be noted they violate the warranty of the products.
What do you think of Steve Bedard's DIY Klipsch speakers? Have you done something like this yourself? Post in the comments below!


text:
Bananarama: CDs & DVDs, The Best CDs & DVDs of Bananarama
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Home > Health > Drug Prices Don't Budge Even After Pressure From Congress
Drug Prices Don't Budge Even After Pressure From Congress
By The Associated Press on November 16, 2016
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FILE – In this Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 file photo, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, right, and Dr. Doug Throckmorton, deputy director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to testifying before the House Oversight Committee hearing on EpiPen price increases. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON — Congress's routine of publicly shaming drug company executives over high prices works no better than a placebo: It may make some people feel better, but it doesn't treat the problem.
In the last two years, House and Senate committees issued more than a dozen subpoenas to price-hiking drugmakers, collecting hundreds of thousands of documents and berating executives for more than 16 hours of public hearings.
But a review by The Associated Press of the list prices of nearly 30 brand-name medications and generic versions targeted by congressional investigators shows most haven't budged since coming under federal scrutiny, according to figures from Truven Health Analytics.
"These companies have made clear that they are not going to change course on their own – they will keep bilking the American people for all they can unless Congress acts," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Unlike most countries, the U.S. doesn't regulate drug prices. That means drugmakers, like other businesses, are largely free to set prices as high as the market will bear.
Congress has avoided passing laws that would change how drugs are priced, in keeping with the wishes of the powerful pharmaceutical lobby. That leaves lawmakers with few options beyond hauling executives before their committees.
Cummings helped kick off Capitol Hill's latest round of pharmaceutical bashing in the fall of 2014 with a flurry of letters to makers of prescription drugs that had seen dramatic price spikes. Since then, the AP counted 29 drugs that were specifically mentioned either in letters from lawmakers or during congressional hearings. The list prices of 22 of those drugs did not change at all. Five fell, and two went up. Those that fell were generic drugs that received little public attention.
Drugmakers say list prices overstate drug costs, since insurers who pay for them negotiate discounts and rebates. But companies don't disclose those reductions, leaving the actual prices paid unclear.
Meanwhile, executives have found ways to defuse some of the public outrage without cutting prices. Under questioning from Cummings and other lawmakers in September, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch pointed to company coupons that can lower the price for EpiPens by up to $300 for some insured patients. While such coupons lower patients' out-of-pocket expenses, insurers foot the bill for the drug, which still carries of list price of $608 for a two-pack, up more than 500 percent since 2007.
Last year, former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli reneged on a pledge to lower the price of the life-saving anti-infection drug Daraprim after raising it 5,000 percent. Instead, his company offered hospitals a sliding discount and the option to buy a 30-pill bottle for $22,500 instead of the original 100-pill bottle, which cost $75,000. The $750 list price per pill didn't budge.
"The industry has cultivated an outrageously complicated and obscure pricing system," said Robert Weissman, president of consumer advocate Public Citizen. "They can give the illusion of various discounts and rebates that sound on their face like price reductions but without really impacting their bottom line."
Even when corporate leaders seem to promise price cuts while under oath, the decreases don't materialize.
Last April, billionaire investor Bill Ackman testified before a Senate committee about Valeant Pharmaceutical's much-maligned strategy of buying niche drugs and raising their prices by as much as 3,000 percent. With the Canadian drugmaker's then-CEO Michael Pearson stepping down, Ackman promised to use his influence on the company's board to try and revamp its pricing strategy.
"A lot is going to change," said Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital fund is Valeant's largest investor.
On two heart drugs that Valeant had acquired and hiked, Nitropress and Isuprel, Ackman suggested price cuts were imminent.
"You can expect from us within weeks, and hopefully sooner, a response to where we're going to price these drugs and it will be meaningfully lower than where they are priced now," Ackman said.
Instead, Valeant kept the list prices the same and expanded existing rebates for hospitals to up to 40 percent.
"That sounds good, but when you raise prices more than 500 percent a 40 percent discount is still egregious," said Scott Knoer, chief pharmacy officer at the Cleveland Clinic.
Valeant said in a statement the rebates were recommended by its internal drug pricing committee, created in the wake of public outrage over its prices. A spokesman for Ackman declined to comment.
Experts who study the pharmaceutical pricing say rebates and discounts allow drugmakers to retain greater control – and revenue – than blanket price cuts.
"You can have different prices for different customers depending on who has more market share," said analyst Richard Evans of Sector and Sovereign Research. "So you can tailor your pricing somewhat stealthily."
Evans says congressional scrutiny of companies like Valeant has discouraged the most extreme price hikes, generally those above 100 percent. But most of the price inflation squeezing patients and hospitals comes from industry-wide price increases that often total more than 10 percent a year, rather than the drastic hikes targeted by Congress.
Rep. Cummings and his investigative partner, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, unveiled a new strategy earlier this month that could have more teeth than shaming, at least if companies are doing something illegal. Rather than launching another congressional probe, the lawmakers called on the Department of Justice to investigate possible price collusion among manufacturers of insulin, which they say has seen industrywide price increases of more than 300 percent between 2002 and 2013.
There are also some new and long-standing proposals that could stem increases, but they are unlikely to pass Congress, in part because of the pharmaceutical industry's pervasive influence on Capitol Hill. Drugmakers and related health businesses spent more than $235 million on lobbying last year, more than any other industry, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.
Investors seem to think the victories of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have dimmed the prospects for drug price reform even further. Pharmaceutical company shares, which had lagged the broader stock market this year until the election, have dramatically outperformed the market since then.
In the meantime, lawmakers are likely to continue publicly lashing drugmakers, if only to appease constituents. A majority of Americans say lowering drug prices is the most important health care issue that the incoming president and Congress should be working on, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
"The big question is whether it remains mostly talk and hearings or whether it amounts to action," said Drew Altman, president of the nonpartisan Kaiser foundation. "At this stage the drug industry is playing a version of Muhammad Ali's rope-a-dope – rolling with the punches and waiting to see how things turn out."
Affordable drug pricescongressdrugshealth
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A column by A. W. Maldonado
[Annotation] The People Have Spoken
By abstaining, you can't express anything
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Barbed staples should not be driven tight against the wire or ube insulators on line posts. You can utilize the natural spring of high-tensile wire and permit easy tightening and retightening fo the line wire if the wire can move freely.
The most common cause of staple pullout is improperly driving them into the wood posts. Follow these rules to avoid problems.
Choose the correct size staple for the application. Use at least 1 3/4″ for posts at rises and dips.
Drive staples at a slight angle, straddling the wood grain.
Rotate away from flat face.


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As has been the case since Sunday few places in Coastal Tamil Nadu recorded rains yesterday as well. In particular the rains were heavy around the Ariyalur to Delta region. Senthurai in Ariyalur district recorded about 4 cms of rains while closer to the coast Manalmedu & Kollidam recorded about 2 cms. Little down south Thirumayam also recorded moderate to heavy rains last evening totaling to about 4 cms of rains. Many parts of South Chennai & suburbs around Tambaram and south of it recording short spells of moderate to intense rains. Nungambakkam recorded about 3 mm rains till early in the morning.
In Peninsular India West Coast to the south of Konkan region has been seeing a very poor monsoon for the last month or so with the rainfall pattern being erratic and not helping for the storage of dams. In particular concern is the Cauvery basin which is struggling under two consecutive years of poor monsoon. The deficit rainfall so far in the upper riparian areas particularly around the catchment area is showing up in the poor storage levels of the various dams.
Districts like Wayanad has seen only about 40% of the normal rainfall expected of this season so far while Kodagu district in Karnataka has seen about 75% of the normal rainfall so far this season. Similar is the case with Hassan district which provides the bulk of the catchment to Hemavati Dam. It is only when we come to the plateau region of Mysore / Mandya the situation improves with these places receiving above normal rainfall unfortunately these districts contribute far lesser to the overall catchment of the river compared to the ghat areas. As one can see KRS the biggest among the Karnataka dams in Cauvery basin is less than half of its capacity while closer home in Tamil Nadu Mettur has a storage which is less than 25% of the overall storage capacity.
It is time for the Governments to keep an eye on the developments and possibly look at possible alternate scenarios as we roughly have about 45 days of active monsoon period left. As the years have progressed Cauvery has become more and more a deficit river basin with the needs far outstripping the available supply from the river. On on the one hand we have the agricultural needs of the farmers from both riparian states of Karnataka & Tamil Nadu while on the other are the drinking water needs for many towns & cities along the river. It is time the stakeholders sit together and chalk out a short term plan to mitigate the needs for this year in case the monsoon continues to remain weak for the rest of the season in these areas. Similarly a long term plan is much needed as well to reduce the dependence on the river may be in terms of better irrigation practices that make our usage of water more efficient and possibly look at the reduction of water intensive crops like Rice which is simply going to become unviable in the days to come.
In the meanwhile the season's first monsoon depression has intensified into a Deep Depression and now lies over Bangaladesh & Gangetic West Bengal. It is expected to move along the monsoon trough making slow movement over the next 24 hours or so after which it will start to gradually weaken. Travelling over the Gangetic Plains and adjacent Central Indian region it is expected to bring heavy rains along its path to many areas of Central India which has been recording heavy rains already this monsoon year. In Peninsular India the west coast is likely to see a slow down in the rains as the weak off shore trough pushes up the latitude closer to the Gujarat coast.
Coastal Tamil Nadu is expected to see another day of possible thunderstorms in a few areas after what is likely to be a very hot day and possibly sea breeze setting in around 3 PM along the North Coastal Tamil Nadu region. Places around Pondicherry is best placed for a few spells of moderate to heavy showers later in the evening.


An excerpt from the Harborough Mail's forerunner, The Market Harborough Advertiser, from December 15, 1914.
December 15, 1914: In 2014 we have Black Friday and Cyber Monday; online retailing is breaking records every day; the media is full to bursting with advertising to get consumers out of their houses and onto the bustling high streets and out-of-town shopping outlets.
And, of course, this is not a new phenomenon; we didn't invent consumerism. I'm no expert on when advertising became the driving force behind retail spending but studying and analysing newspapers published a century ago proves that very little has changed.
Put the technology to one side and the big difference between 1914 and 2014 advertising is the unashamed decision to use the conflict in France and Belgium to help sell, sell, sell.
The Market Harborough Advertiser of December 15, 1914, is another eight-page belter and the war is everywhere – but not just in the editorial columns but in the adverts themselves.
On the front page, Symington & Thwaites is using the 'earpiece' single column ad to the side of the Advertiser masthead to exhort shoppers to buy 'Christmas plum puddings for soldiers at the front'.
That is a costly spot for S&T even though it takes up only a small space, however, that is bolstered by another advert that takes up half the entire back page.
Webb Bros is not quite so crass merely providing "A few valuable hints including comforts for our brave defenders" as the thrust of its advert promoting khaki shirts, woollen socks and under-vests.
F S McLachlan, at 9 The Square, is even more understated. "During the present crisis it has been generally recognised that the motto for us all should be business as usual.
"Christmastime this year will not be, of course, quite the same as usual with so many brave men and lads away from Home fighting for our liberty and the honour of their country.
There is very little editorial news in this edition of the Advertiser, particularly about the war. There is, however, one report – probably from one of the press agencies used by local papers a century ago – which tells of the Attorney-General Sir John Simon defending the Government's Press Bureau and the draconian censorship of national newspaper reports.
Local papers slip under the radar with reports of local lads retelling their own harrowing tales in the trenches and on the fighting front but national newspapers, which have their own correspondents in France, are reduced to writing about 'big picture' issues and miss the pulsing heartbeat of what is happening to the common soldier.
The reports states: "There were two mistakes constantly made in criticising the work of the Press Censorship.
"In the first place it was apparently supposed in some quarters that then, as sometimes happened, the publication of a piece of news was delayed or denied, the reason was to be found in fear of the effect on the British Public. According to that theory, the British people, would be unduly elated by news of success and dangerously depressed by news of a misfortune.
"That," the Attorney-General declared, "is ridiculous a misunderstanding.
That was obvious to all and was perfectly understood by those who gave orders to the press censor.
The report says the second mistake of critics is even 'further removed from the facts'. The report says: It seemed to be imagined that when the order went forth that, for reasons of national policy and military strategy, certain information had to be withheld.
"It was the Press Censor who decided the matter in his own discretion and at his own whim and pleasure.


text:
Based on Advisory Board, Collaborations, Community Speaker and Consultancy agreements, MPE carried out a survey to analyse these contracts in order to find out what problems advocates may have experienced while going through them.
These contracts define the terms and conditions of the collaboration such us confidentiality, intellectual property, copyright, data protection, compensation and other responsibilities of both parties. According to the survey "Reasonable agreements between patient advocacy and the pharmaceutical industry" answered by more than 80 patient advocates and representatives of several European and national patient organisations, most of the contracts between pharma and patient organisations are difficult to understand and contain unreasonable clauses.
More than a half of patient advocates only understand some, few or none of the contracts they received. Only 45% of advocates understand almost all the content of the contracts.
Around 20% of advocates rarely or never read all legal agreements in detail before signing them because they don't have legal support, they don't have time to check them, they trust pharmaceutical companies or other reasons such as the length of the contract or the confusing terms used. The legal agreements usually are difficult to understand and confusing for people who don't have a legal background or legal support.
The length of the contracts is one aspect that advocates would change in the legal contracts. 63% of all contracts they receive have six or more pages while 85% of advocates think that the reasonable length for a contract should be between one and five pages.
Advocates spend almost five hours approximately in negotiating, reading, printing, scanning and sending every contract.
Besides the length and the terms used in the contracts, the clauses included in the contracts are often unreasonable or unfair from the patient point of view. The clauses to protect the pharmaceutical company against litigation, advocate guaranteeing that any third party material used by the advocate can be used by the company or the ownership and intellectual property of work delivered by the advocate are some of the clauses considered unreasonable by more than a half the advocates who answer the survey.
Only 18% of the patients' advocates always try to change those clauses considered unreasonable. 35% of advocates do it sometimes and 46.25 rarely or never try to change those clauses.
Among advocates who have tried to change clauses they considered unreasonable, more than half (52.38%) reported that the pharmaceutical company rarely or never agreed to change the clauses; 36.51% said the company sometimes agreed to make the changes; 11% said the company always agreed to make the changes.
Objectives and scope


AED conference center, Washington DC.
After-conference reception sponsored by Sunbelt Software: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/.
12:00 - 12:40 Lunch break Got chow?
information, as well as plan our future operations.
be sponsored by Sunbelt Software.
FIRST. MAAWG, IS-ISAC, IT-ISAC, FS-ISAC, anti virus vetted groups and the honey net project.
request. We would be happy to learn of your interest.
to contact us to arrange their arrival.
Anti Spam vendors and projects, CERT teams, Law Enforcement, Academia, etc.
operations being done online today for the security of the Internet.
The workshop is closed to reporters.
Attendance is free of charge. You must confirm your arrival by July 20th by emailing contact@isotf.org or the organizer directly.
This workshop's main topics are fastflux, online fraud, DDoS and botnets.
This is the official CFP for ISOI 3. Main subjects include: fastflux, fraud, DDoS, botnets. Other subjects relating to Internet security operations are also welcome.
to back it up by July 20th, to contact@isotf.org.
When: Aug 27 - 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Aug 28 - 9:00 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After-conference reception: August 27 - 7:00 p.m.
workshop is located here and the second can be found here.


text:
namespace Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Management.HDInsight.ClusterProvisioning.Data
{
    using Newtonsoft.Json;

    internal static class JsonHelper
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Encodes the input string so that it can be used in a Json string literal. This method will handle escaping special characters such as " to become \", etc.
        /// </summary>
        public static string EncodeStringForJson(string input)
        {
            // Use Json.Net to serialize the input string to Json, this essentially performs the necessary escaping and then add surrounding quotes.
            // e.g:
            //   abc => "abc"
            //   ab"c => "ab\"c"
            //   \abc\ => "\\abc\\"
            string output = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(input);

            output = output.Trim(new char[] { '"' });

            return output;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Encodes the input byte array as a Json string.
        /// </summary>
        public static string EncodeByteArrayForJson(byte[] data)
        {
            string output = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(data);

            output = output.Trim(new char[] { '"' });

            return output;
        }
    }
}


Terra Incognita: Growing anti-Jewish rhetoric in the U.S.
They say: Antisemitism is not systemic. Jews are white supremacists. Jews have dual loyalty and pledge allegiance to Israel. That is the new nexus of anti-Jewish rhetoric percolating up in the US among activists and even in Congress.
It began innocently enough with criticism of Israel and attempts to connect that criticism to other social justice priorities. But over time, the whispering campaign has grown to a crescendo that legitimizes a worldview that is rapidly becoming more toxic.
We need to understand this growing discussion as part of a puzzle. Each piece forms its part, and together the parts become a milieu that fosters hatred against Jews in the US.
So Sarsour makes a point of first noting that Jews suffer discrimination, but then hiving them off and claiming hatred of Jews is different; it's not even systemic.
In the activism spaces that led to the rise of the Women's March and other movements, there was an attempt to differentiate between Jews and all other American minorities, labeling Jews white.
Then we began to hear not only constituent and systemic references to Jews as "white" but accusations that Jews were responsible for the slave trade. This is a racist view that has dominated rhetoric around Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Much as Sarsour had sought to differentiate between Jews and other minorities and the "nonsystemic" aspect of antisemitism, Mallory was noting that not only are Jews "white" but they uphold white supremacy.
Now, the third piece of the puzzle is Ilhan Omar's recent tirades accusing Jews of disliking her because she is Muslim and attacking other members of Congress for "allegiance" to a foreign country, often alongside statements about Israel.
The campaign now against Jews in America is an incremental process. 1. Claim antisemitism isn't racism; 2. Claim Jews are upholding white supremacy; and 3. Accuse Jews of allegiance to a foreign country. And this is a process that isn't hidden away in some conspiracy chat room somewhere, but is being pushed by the rising stars of a new young and vibrant activist community that has taken hold.
It is difficult to confront this, because many parts of the agenda have been embraced by some left-leaning Jewish activists. Some of them think that the discussion of white supremacy is a good model to challenge Jews who embrace right-wing views. Others appear to come at this from a paternalistic standpoint and think these views are not so threatening, and want to partner with these voices to be involved with other causes.
In case you were wondering if that's exaggeration, The Boston Globe this week ran an op-ed titled "A shocking number of Jews have become willing collaborators in white supremacy." Are Irish complicit? Catholics? Protestants? Nope. Just Jews. The narrative is: Jews and the slave trade. Jews and white supremacy. Antisemitism isn't systemic. Jews have foreign allegiance.
The campaign is designed to attack other Jewish Americans and make them responsible for all of America's problems.
What's important to point out is that no other group in America is blamed for "driving America's wars." Not white Protestants. Not Catholics. No one else. Only Jews. And that's antisemitism – and it is systemic. To systematically always blame Jews and always find "the Jew" behind every problem in America, from foreign wars to white supremacy and slavery, is antisemitism. And it is systemic. And it is growing.