text:
Pinto had inherited a nice little fishing boat. He waited all winter to launch it. When springtime came, he invited his friend John to go with him.
Friday after work they hosed it down and patched the holes to get it ready.
Saturday morning early they hooked up the trailer and drove 19 miles to the reservoir. After backing down the launch, Pinto was reminded by the local warden that he had no registration sticker. Pinto realized he had specifically dug them out last night and set them by the door so he wouldn't forget.
They parked and unhooked the boat trailer, drove back home, retrieved the sticker, drove back to the lake, hooked up the trailer and launched the boat. They had gassed it up and were ready. Pinto squeezed the rubber ball on the gas line to inject fuel. However, over the winter the ball had frozen and it cracked, spewing gas all over our hapless captain!
They pulled the boat back onto the trailer, drove the five miles to the bait shop/convenience store and bought a new squeeze ball. Back at the lake, they launched again.
Exuberant, he squeezed the new ball and flooded the little boat motor so much that after 20 minutes of jerking the cord, they gave up. John backed the trailer down the launch again and loaded the boat. As they started forward, the boat slid off the trailer … because they had forgotten to connect the latch strap!
They rescued the boat, affixed the latch strap and decided to drive to the river instead of the lake. They could just float along in the current and fish.
It already was after lunchtime. In an attempt to back down a rocky bank into the river, one of the trailer wheels peeled its whole tread! Thank goodness Pinto had a spare and a jack. Unfortunately, his lug wrench didn't fit.
So … unhook the boat and trailer, drive to a nearby farm, borrow a lug wrench, drive back to the river, fix the tire and resignedly hook up the trailer … once again.
They fired up the pickup and turned uphill on a washboard road, which rattled the trailer so bad it came off the hitch, tearing out the wiring and coming to a stop when it rolled up against a mailbox. Apparently John had forgotten to latch the ball down.
Stubbornly, our superhuman sportsmen hooked back up, drove by the farmer's place, returned the wrench, put air in the trailer tire and drove home.
"Done fishin'!"
Baxter Black is a veterinarian and cowboy poet. His column appears weekly and airs at 6:20 a.m. each Monday on KGNC Talk Radio 710. He can be reached at www.baxterblack.com or 800-654-2550.


text:
I might feel better about the House Republicans' food stamp block grant if Congressman Paul Ryan, who wrote it, were up front about the motive. Not more supportive, mind you, but less concerned — and angry.
It's clear that the food stamp block grant, like the Medicaid block grant, aims to slash federal safety net spending. Savings on food stamp benefits, plus state administrative support would total nearly 20% over the first 10 years.
The objective here is to pare back what we've come to view as our government's mission — and to offset the revenues that will be lost by the proposed tax cut extensions and expansions.
But the budget plan doesn't justify the food stamp program that way. It relies instead of three big myths.
The first is that the safety net is likely to become — if it hasn't already — a "comfortable hammock that lulls able-bodied citizens into lives of complacency."
Complacency? Ryan and his colleagues obviously haven't taken a food stamp challenge recently — or tried to support themselves and their families on an income well below the federal poverty line.
The second myth is that participation in the food stamp program is increasing at a "relentless and unsustainable" rate because states get more federal funds when they enroll people.
But, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows, the recession accounts for most of the recent uptick in food stamp spending. Costs, as a share of the nation's economic output, will fall as the job market improves — because that's how most of our better safety net programs work.
The third myth is that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program has been a roaring success and thus should be the model for other safety net programs.
The "proof" cited by the budget plan, as by other proponents of this view, is that the "reforms" it initiated cut caseloads dramatically during the first five years, while poverty rates also fell.
Lots of factors account for both, including a strong economy that made it relatively easy for TANF parents to find work — though often not long-term work at living wages.
But TANF caseloads didn't expand when the economy cooled in the early 2000s. And, as Legal Momentum reports, only 6.6% more poor adults and children were added to the rolls during the first 19 months of the Great Recession.
That's not because TANF is so successfully lifting poor families out of poverty. It's because states have incentives to minimize their caseloads — and the benefits they provide. One of the biggest is the declining value of the federal block grant itself.
They'd have this same incentive if they got a fixed, inadequate sum for their food stamp programs, as they would under the House budget plan.
The plan warns that "the poor and vulnerable will undoubtedly be hardest hit" if the federal government experiences a debt crisis due to runaway spending because the "only recourse will be severe, across-the-board cuts."
Seems the House Republicans have decided to preempt these hypothetical future cuts by making severe, targeted cuts to safety net programs like food stamps now.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Israel, the Son of God
New Testament fulfillment language does not always mean a prophet directly saw an aspect of Jesus' ministry. When the Apostles say Christ fulfilled a prophecy, they sometimes mean that He is the true realization of a particular old covenant theme ...Read More
Reaping the Whirlwind
Scripture teaches in several places that God will give people the desires of their hearts. For the Christian, this is a blessing, for as we delight ourselves in the Lord, our desires will more and more line up with God's ...Read More
Raised by the LORD
Some commentators believe there is an allusion to Hosea 6:2 in passages such as Mark 8:31 and Acts 10:40, but it seems unlikely that the prophet had a specific time frame for the resurrection in mind when ...Read More
Seeking Help in All the Wrong Places
Even though we are justified by faith alone as individuals and redeemed based on our personal relationship to God, we cannot forget that the Lord also deals with the church as a corporate body. Entire denominations feel the effects of ...Read More
Hosea Redeems His Wife
Matthew Henry comments on today's passage: "All who are sincerely devoted to God are betrothed to him; God will love them, protect them, and provide for them. The covenant itself shall be inviolable: God will not break it on his ...Read More
Unfaithful Children
One commentator has pointed out that Hosea likely endured much grief because of the names of his children. Every time an Israelite spoke to No Mercy and Not My People, he would have been reminded of the prophet's words against ...Read More
Hosea, the Son of Beeri
The imagery of God as the husband of His covenant people—His bride—is pervasive in Scripture (Isa. 62:5; Rev. 19:6–10). It is a picture of great intimacy and tenderness, conveying the deep love that the Lord ...Read More


text:
Series: Book
Publisher: Backbeat Books
Format: Softcover
Author: Walter Carter
Podcast: Walter Carter talks Epiphone guitars with Ed Driscoll
The story of Epiphone, one of the oldest and most famous guitar companies, is told by former staff historian Walter Carter. It's an epic story spanning three centuries, from Old World roots in the 19th century to the golden age of American makers in the 20th century and onward into the global market of the new millennium. It's the story of America's business, from an individual luthier to a family business and on to corporate ownership. And it's the story of American popular music, powered by Epiphone guitars, from big-bodied Emperor that drove the swing bands of the 1930s, to the electric hollowbodies of the 1960s used by The Beatles and studio ace Howard Roberts, to custom solidbody models for such modern rockers as Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Jeff Waters (Annihilator), and Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance). Beautifully illustrated with photos of all the important Epiphone instruments and the extraordinary musicians who played them, this is a fascinating history of an iconic name in the world of the guitar.
Inventory #HL 00333269
Width: 8.5"
Length: 11.0"
176 pages
Prices and availability subject to change without notice.


text: Nadri has redefined affordable luxury with sophisticated, one-of-a-kind treasures. Now a global provider of beautiful, quality jewellery, Nadri was first established in 1984 in Korea by Young Ta MacGyver Choi. Taking inspiration from both classic and modern concepts, the New York-based brand pays close attention to detail and perfection. Intricately adorned with glittering jewels and ornate pendants, Nadri necklaces add a shining finish to any outfit. Though simple in design, each treasurable piece is rich in lush elements and a timeless wearability.


text:
Loyola at a Glance
Subscribe to our Newsroom RSS feed | What is RSS?
Follow Loyola University New Orleans on Twitter
2014 Lenten Series continues reflections on Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
March 28, 2014
Loyola University New Orleans' Jesuit Center presents its 2014 Lenten Series, "The Heart of Ignatian Spirituality: The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola," a collection of events in March and April to observe the season of Lent. Aiming to inspire the entire Loyola community—students, faculty, staff and alumni—to share together in the spirit of the season, the series features reflective lectures, concerts and masses such as the Gregorian Chant Laetare Mass Sunday, March 30.
The Rev. Ted Dziak, S.J., vice president for the Office of Mission and Ministry, points to what St. Ignatius Loyola says as inspiration for the series: "Love ought to manifest itself in deeds rather than just words," Ignatius says at the end of the Spiritual Exercises. "This is just one of the many spiritual gifts we can gain from the Spiritual Exercises as we enter the Lenten season. We encourage our Loyola community to participate in these reflections to foster our Lenten devotions and join hearts and become truly Easter people," Dziak said.
Co-sponsored by the Alumni Association, each of these free events will take place on Loyola's main campus. Events include:
- Sunday, March 30 - Holy Name of Jesus Church, 7:30 p.m.
Gregorian Chant Laetare Mass with the Rev. William Farge, S.J., presiding.
Latin Rite Mass co-sponsored by the College of Music and Fine Arts.
- Wednesday, April 2 – Ignatius Chapel, Bobet Hall, 7 p.m.
Week Three of the Spiritual Exercises: "Compassion and the Abandonment of Jesus"
The Rev. Mark Mossa, S.J., adjunct professor at Fordham University Curran Center for American Catholic Studies
- Wednesday, April 9 – Ignatius Chapel, Bobet Hall, 7 p.m.
Week Four of the Spiritual Exercises: "Resurrection as New Dimension"
The Rev. Ed Vacek, S.J., the Reverend Stephen J. Duffy Chair in Catholic Studies at Loyola.
For more information, please contact the Jesuit Center at 504-865-2304.
For the latest updates about Loyola University New Orleans, follow us on Twitter @LoyolaNOLANews or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/loyno.
Loyola at a Glance is written and distributed for the faculty, staff, students and friends of Loyola University New Orleans. It is published by the Office of Public Affairs, Greenville Hall, Box 909, 7214 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. (504) 861-5888.
Information to be included in Loyola at a Glance must be received 2-3 weeks in advance of the publication date. Send us your news here.


text:
Advancing the sport of skating for 70 years…
Riedell skates date back to 1947 when Paul Riedell founded the company in Red Wing, MN after he parted ways with the Red Wing Shoe Co. His mission was to design widely available and affordable ice skate and he soon after found success in the market of roller skates. In fact, he has even been accepted into the roller skating hall of fame!
Roller skate nation agrees with their claim that "Riedell skates has no equal" and we stock a giant selection of Riedell roller skates in order to provide you top quality and affordable skates, year after year.
The Riedell roller skate company breaks down into 6 different roller skate categories to give you plenty of options for every type of roller skating you desire. Let's take a quick look at what they offer:
Jam skates:
For Jamskaters, Shuffle Skaters and Rex Skaters around the country.
Art skates:
Responsive and lightweight roller skates for dance skating.
Derby skates:
Comfortable, durable and grippy skates suitable for all roller derby players.
Speed skates:
Skates made for the traditional Speed, Jam and Track skater.
Rhythm skates:
Agile, groovy and quick skates for rhythm skaters.
Outdoor skates:
Tough and durable skates with outdoor wheels to be used in the great outdoors.
We highly recommend that you take a quick look at this awesome skate 101 help guide. It's packed full of extremely useful information that will teach you just about everything you need to know about roller skates. After all, Riedell knows how to roll. They even know how to glide and Riedell skates play a major role in the world of figure skating.
Here's a list of figure skaters worldwide that wear Riedell skates.
- Jeremy Abbott, Four Continents bronze medalist
- Craig Buntin, National Champion
- Kurt Browning, World Champion
- Michael Chrolenko, National Champion
- Jean Sebastien Fecteau, National Silver Medalist
- Eliot Halverson, Junior National Champion
- Laura Lepistö, European Champion
- Valérie Marcoux, National Champion
- Parker Pennington, Junior National Champion
- Susanna Pöykiö, European Silver Medalist
- Jamie Salé, Olympic Champion
- Jenni Vähämaa, Junior National Champion
- Johnny Weir, National Champion
The newest addition to the Riedell skate catalog is the fully fashionable Dart Quad Speed Roller Skates. The Dart boot has quality man made materials that cradle your foot, lots of great padding so you can focus on the fun of roller skating. The boot color matches the hub color to give it a colorful boost to let your personality shine.


text:
SHIMMER Firmware
Firmware provides the low-level capabilities within the SHIMMER platform to control the device functions. There are a number of lightweight operating systems that can be used to run on a sensor node, namely TinyOS [53], Contiki [54], Nano-RK [55], ERIKA [56], MANTIS [57], and SOS [58]. All SHIMMER firmware is primarily developed by using TinyOS and released into the public domain via SourceForge [59]. Firmware running on the sensor platform provides local processing of the sensed data, local storage of the data if required, and communications of these data to a higher-level application for advanced signal processing, display and data persistence.
TinyOS handles task scheduling, radio communication, time, I/O processing, etc. and has a very small footprint size. TinyOS is a lightweight, event-driven operating system designed for sensor network nodes that have very limited resources.
Real-time Data Streaming to BioMOBIUS
SHIMMER data can be reliably streamed at rates up to 500HZ in real-time to a BioMOBIUS application via the Bluetooth or 802.15.4 radios. To enhance the reliable communications in addition to standard Bluetooth link reliability, a packet format that supports various types of sensor data and provides enhanced reliability to the data transmission through packet sequence numbers and a cyclic redundancy check, was developed. The SHIMMMER firmware (implemented in TinyOS version 1) uses the frame format in Figure 5 for BioMOBIUS application integration.
The content of packets is unrestricted binary data. This can lead to problems with control characters like BOF (Beginning of Frame, hex byte '0xC0') or EOF (End of Frame, hex byte '0xC1') appearing in the packet header or payload and being interpreted as control characters. To avoid this issue, a byte stuffing technique based on ISO's asynchronous high-level data link control (HDLC) protocol is utilized.
Logging Data to MicroSD Card
Many biomedical applications require subjects to have complete and unhindered mobility. To achieve this, capability support for Secure Digital (SD) card logging has been developed. The SHIMMER platform utilizes a MicroSD card slot that supports up to two GBytes of flash memory. For ambulatory ECG monitoring at 500 Hz from three channels, more than 80 days of data can be stored in uncompressed format. There are a number of firmware programs available on SourceForge that facilitate recording of data to the SHIMMER platform's MicroSD card.
Power Management
A significant difference between most sensor nodes and standard computing platforms is the heavy focus on power management and consumption. A large number of applications require battery-powered operation for extended periods of time [60]. Computational capabilities have far outstripped battery technologies. SHIMMER battery optimizations have been implemented to satisfy various project requirements. These optimizations implemented in firmware have been mostly, but not exclusively, focused on lowering the duty cycle of the 802.15.4 radio. The goal is to minimize the on-time of all hardware subsystems on the sensor hardware platform. For example, each gyroscope on the SHIMMER gyroscope daughterboard requires a supply current of 9.5mA. With two dual-axis gyroscopes on the board there is a substantial 19mA requirement that can be saved when the gyroscopes are off. Other auxiliary battery features have been implemented for integration purposes, such as a low battery indication sent by the SHIMMER platform to a BioMOBIUS software application that prevents corrupted data from the accelerometer being received. The accelerometer outputs are ratio metric which means the output offset and sensitivity will scale linearly with applied supply voltage. Therefore, useful data can only be generated if the supply voltage remains constant. The low battery indication is a SHIMMER firmware feature that halts sampling of data when the supply voltage falls below +3V.
Programming/Flashing SHIMMER
An intuitive mechanism to support the download of firmware executable programs to SHIMMER sensors was highlighted as an important capability for biomedical researchers. The SHIMMER development kit includes an easy-to-use graphical application called the "SHIMMER Windows Bootstrap Loader" to allow users who do not have a TinyOS installation on their system to program SHIMMER sensors for their application needs.


text:
Customer Service and Ordering
Tel: 0845 217 7565
Available Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm
See Disclaimer
Enter the subject that interests you and click Search.
Oyez Store is a part of Oyez Professional Services
Oyez Professional Services Limited. Registered Address: Unit 4, 500 Purley Way, Croydon, Surrey CR0 4NZ Registered in England & Wales No.01291562. A member of the OfficeTeam Group.
GDPR | Privacy | Disclaimer | Terms


text:
Matthew Glandorf, organ
Matthew Glandorf has an active career as a conductor, composer, church musician, and educator. He was raised in Germany, where he received early instruction at the organ of Bremen Cathedral with Wolfgang Baumgratz. At age sixteen he entered the Curtis Institute of Music as a student of John Weaver and Ford Lallerstedt. He pursued graduate studies with McNeil Robinson at the Manhattan School of Music. In 2004 he was appointed artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, and in 2008 he became the artistic director of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. He has served as director of music for many Philadelphia churches, including Old St. Joseph's, Old Pine Street Presbyterian, and Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion.
Mr. Glandorf has served on the faculties of Swarthmore College and Westminster Choir College and joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1995.


text:
Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos
Delegation to the World Heritage Committee
Document Word
Les Listes indicatives des États parties sont publiées par le Centre du patrimoine mondial sur son site Internet et/ou dans les documents de travail afin de garantir la transparence et un accès aux informations et de faciliter l'harmonisation des Listes indicatives au niveau régional et sur le plan thématique.
Le contenu de chaque Liste indicative relève de la responsabilité exclusive de l'État partie concerné. La publication des Listes indicatives ne saurait être interprétée comme exprimant une prise de position de la part du Comité du patrimoine mondial, du Centre du patrimoine mondial ou du Secrétariat de l'UNESCO concernant le statut juridique d'un pays, d'un territoire, d'une ville, d'une zone ou de leurs frontières.
Les noms des biens figurent dans la langue dans laquelle les États parties les ont soumis.
- The burial mound field of Umm-Jidr N26 01 0.62 E50 31 2.31
- The burial mound field of Dar Kulayb N26 04 30.94 E50 30 18.91
- The burial mound field of Karzakkan N26 07 17.92 E50 29 56.73
- The burial mound field of Buri N26 08 24.51 E50 30 11.66
- The Burial mound field of Wadi as-Sail N26 07 28.92 E50 31 1.74
- The cultural landscape of Ali N26 08 56.44 E50 30 40.91
- The burial mound field of Janabiyah N26 10 49.10 E50 28 23.67
- The burial complexes of Saar N26 10 47.31 E50 29 27.04
- The burial mound field of Shakhurah N26 12 49.29 E50 30 3.25
- The grave field of Al Hajar N26 13 0.06 E50 30 53.81
- The burial mound field of Jannusan N26 13 39.90 E50 29 29.70
The "Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos" are a seriaI property formed by eleven sites located on the western part of the island and composing together a chain which extends over 25 km from the centre of the country to its northern coast.
Ten of these eleven sites are archaeological areas consisting of fields of graves which were built by the inhabitants of what is currently the island of Bahrain, between the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. and the middle of the Ist millennium A.D. The eleventh site is a cultural landscape resulting from the urban development which led to the expansion of the village of Ali into the northern part of the neighbouring burial mound field. The urban fabric occupied the empty space between several enormous burial mounds (called "Royal Mounds"), creating an exceptional interaction between a contemporary urban pattern and funeral elements belonging to the Bronze Age.
Each of the sites composing the proposed serial property provides essential archaeological and scientific data defining the unique funerary practices of the Dilmun and Tylos civilizations. This essential information concerns either the evolution of the societies through these practices over successive periods, or the types and sizes of graves, or the burial rituals or the relatively recent human interaction with this particular heritage.
The ten grave fields and the cultural landscape of Ali can be briefly described as follows, in order of geographical location from South to North and West to East:
- Umm Jidr is a mound field lying on the slopes of a rocky hill. This field features both mounds of Early Type (flat mounds of rocky fill and chambers without cap stones from c. 2300 to c. 2050 B.C.) and mounds of Late Type (conical mounds of earth fill and chambers with cap stones from c. 2050 to c. 1600 B.C. Towards the east and south this mound field is lying in its original environment which has only been modelled and transformed by natural phenomena since 4000 years.
- Dar Kulavb, Karzakkan and Buri are large mound fields encompassing Dilmun mounds of Late Type, each field with an exceptional density. These three archaeological areas constitute together a high concentration of mound fields within a relatively limited territory, entirely surrounded by the contemporary urban fabric of Hamad Town.
- Wadi as-Sail is a Dilmun mound of Early Type field. The mounds are lying scattered on the plateaus above the "wadi" and on the slopes running down to the "wadi" bed.
- Cultural landscape of Aali: This complex site is the result of the interaction between two major elements: the Ali burial mound field and the Ali village, which covers the area north of the mound field and the northernmost part of the mound field itself. The Ali mound field is a large mound field of primarily Late Type divided into two parts by a north-south running highway. At the north end of the burial mound field is a group of huge mounds, called "Royal Mounds", which have during the growth of the village become part of its urban fabric, so that the immediate neighbourhood of these mounds has been utilized for habitation and small industries, e.g. pottery and lime production.
- Janabivah: is a mound field comprising five so-called Chieftain Mounds, i.e. mounds with two-tiered chambers, large diameters (c. 20 m) and heights (c. 4-5 m), plus a few other mounds.
- Saar: is a field of two wide flat tumulis each composed of more than a thousand closely built tombs, consisting of chambers separated from each other by interconnected curved stone walls.
- Shakhurah: is a field consisting of mounds of Tylos type, i.e. irregular mounds of varying sizes, covering over up to several hundred burial chambers made from roughly cut stones covered by plaster.
- Al-Hajar: is a field consisting of around 150 sub-terranean tomb chambers cut into the rock and covered with cap stones. The earliest of the tombs date from the Dilmun period, but many of the tombs were re-used and re-built in the Middle and Late Dilmun periods, c. 1600-300 B.C. Besides, the al-Hajjar mound field also features a number of Tylos mounds.
- Janussan: is a field consisting of 8 huge mounds, some more than 10 m high, lying in an approximately east-west oriented row.
Justification de la Valeur Universelle ExceptionnelleThe Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos are the expression of funerary practices of these civilizations which flourished in Bahrain from the mid 3rd millennium B.C. till the mid 1st millennium A.D. and which played essential roles in the organization of trade between Mesopotamia, South Arabia and the Indian subcontinent.
These burial ensembles consist of tumuli of various shapes, forming fields of different levels of density. Among these fields are the densest concentrations of burial mounds found anywhere in the world from any period.
The tumuli illustrate globally unique characteristics with regard to both burial chamber construction and remains of burial rituals.
Among the tumuli of the Dilmun civilizations are two burial complexes each of them consisting of more than 1000 tombs, which are unique in the world.
Criterion (iii): The burial ensembles of the ancient civilizations of Dilmun and Tylos bear a unique testimony to their funerary traditions.
This unique testimony consists of:
- the only mound field which illustrates the evolution from Early to Late Type of Dilmun tombs and the only remaining mound field in a relatively undisturbed landscape (the site of Umm Jidr);
- the only remaining example of a type of landscape where the Early Type mounds are lying scattered along a wadi, a type of landscape which used to dominate the centre of Bahrain around Rifa al-Gharbi (the site ofWadi as-Sail);
- the highest level of density of burial mounds in one field and the highest density of mound fields in a relatively limited territory (the sites of Dar Kulayb, Karzakkan and Buri);
- the expression, through the variation of mound types, of the social structure of the Dilmun civilization (the site of Ali) and the constitution, over time, of a unique cultural landscape resulting from the interaction between the Ali mound field and the Ali village, where the contemporary urban fabric surrounds the so-called "Royal Mounds", with cases of appropriation of sorne burial mounds for human activities (the culturallandscape of Ali);
- a unique ensemble consisting of two burial complexes (the site of Saar);
- five large, two-tiered chambered, so-called "Chieftain Mounds" (the site of Janabiyah);
- a group of rock-cut, subterranean Dilmun tombs re-used in later periods and a number of Tylos mounds (the site of Al Hajjar);
- the largest field of Tylos mounds (the site of Shakhurah);
- the largest Tylos mounds located on an east-west orientated line (the site of Jannusan).
Déclarations d'authenticité et/ou d'intégritéThe attributes which express the authenticity of the Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos are: the form and design, the material and substance, the function, the location and the density.
Form and design: despite plundering which affected most burial mounds in ancient times -easily observable on aerial photographs as small depressions on top of the mounds -and despite archaeological excavation which modified the shape of a small number of mounds, all the tombs of the Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos still present their original shapes modified only by natural erosion.
Material and substance: all the tombs built during the Dilmun and Tylos periods were made of different kinds of limestone, earth, plaster and wood, as shown during the excavations which were launched in the late 19th century and which did not reveal any later modification or addition of materials.
In the case of the site of Al-Hajar, Early Dilmun graves were reused and rebuilt in the Middle and Late Dilmun and Tylos periods. After the new burial types were constructed, no modification or addition of materials occurred.
Function: all the burial mounds are still tombs with their burial chambers, fragments of skeletons and burial goods. Some mounds in the village of Ali have been used since the 1950's as kilns for the production of pottery and lime, showing an interesting human appropriation and contributing to the design of the exceptional cultural landscape of Aali. This secondary use of the mounds did not affect their primary function as burial chambers.
Location: all the graves of the Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos are located in their original position.
Density: the density is expressed at two levels: an exceptional density of fields in a limited area despite the removal in recent years of a certain number of mound fields, and a unique concentration of burial mounds within each field, the highest in the world, unchanged since the fields were formed.
Despite the removal of many burial mounds since the 1950's due to urban development, there is still a high number of fields likely to express the exceptional density of fields and the exceptional concentration of mounds as well as to demonstrate the evolution of the funerary practices of the Dilmun and Tylos civilizations.
The burial mounds are today less voluminous than originally, due to natural water and wind erosion which affected them over thousands of years. Apart from this unavoidable phenomenon the burial mounds have not suffered from any human actions which have affected their physical integrity, except the widespread plundering which did not disturb the structure of the mounds in any major degree.
Comparaison avec d'autres biens similaires
National level:
The burial ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos provide essential information about the evolution of these two civilizations and are historically linked to major archaeological sites of Bahrain, dating from the same period and notably the World Heritage Site of "Qal'at al-Bahrain: the ancient harbour and capital of Dilmun" and two other sites included in the Tentative List of Bahrain: the Saar Archaeological Site and the Barbar Temples.
Regional level:
There are several mound fields in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, contemporary with those of Bahrain, but their density is much lower than the one characterizing the mound fields of Bahrain.
The Dhahran burial mound field, located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, is contemporary with the Dilmun mound fields of Bahrain and belongs to the same cultural tradition. The Dhahran mound field had originally a high density of mounds, but it has been heavily damaged over the past forty years which severely affected its density in burial mounds.
International level:
The burial mound, as funerary element, was widely used during Prehistoric times throughout the world. Burial mounds can still be found in North America, Asia and Europe, presenting similar characteristics from the structural and design points of view. Among all these burial mounds, those belonging to the Dilmun and Tylos civilizations have the highest density of mound fields in a limited territory and the highest concentration of mounds in one single field ever observed in the world. They also have some particularities (for example a1coves in the corners of the burial chambers) which cannot be found elsewhere.


text:
Find Your Perfect Home.
Climax Real Estate
Climax is located in Michigan. Climax, Michigan has a population of 781. Climax is more family-centric than the surrounding county with 32.72% of the households containing married families with children. The county average for households married with children is 30.15%.
The median household income in Climax, Michigan is $54,479. The median household income for the surrounding county is $46,356 compared to the national median of $53,482. The median age of people living in Climax is 40.7 years.
Climax Weather
The average high temperature in July is 83.3 degrees, with an average low temperature in January of 17.5 degrees. The average rainfall is approximately 37.9 inches per year, with inches of snow per year.
Climax Map
Real Estate Near Climax
Nearby Cities
Nearby Cities Homes for Sale
Climax Zip Codes


text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Identities' tag.
I've been anticipating the new detective drama Q.E.D. starring Takahashi Ai and Nakamura Aoi since it looked like it would involve a lot of awesome math, and now that the first episode is out, we can see that there is indeed a lot of awesome math! And correct, non-trivial math to boot!
Hello! Project member + stereotypical MIT nerd = WIN!
Meet Touma Sou (Nakamura), stereotypical MIT math nerd! Who, having graduated from MIT at a very early age, is for some reason reattending high school … I'm sure this will be explained in future episodes …
Mizuhara Kana (Takahashi) does an impression of MIT! D-:
Of course I am highly amused that "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" appears on the screen at the same time as Takahashi, who should definitely drop by for a visit sometime. I can show you around this place, Aichan, if you're ever in the area.
Since "Q.E.D." is traditionally written at the end of a math proof, this first episode of course features a math proof. As the show's primary purpose is entertainment and not educational, it doesn't focus on the details, but the details nevertheless are there and they're intellectually stimulating, so I'll cover that aspect here.
To begin with, the teacher presents the following proof in class:
[If this is hard to read, it and the below proofs are available as a PDF.]
Let's go through the details. The statement being proved is given in line (1). This is giving a closed-form expression for the sum of the product of three consecutive integers over a range. In line (2), the summed expression is expanded as a cubic polynomial: . This lets us use linearity of summation to split the sum into three parts (3). Then using summation identities, each of the three sums is expressed in closed form (4). In line (5), we factor out , and in line (6), we group like terms of the remaining expression to produce a quadratic polynomial: . This polynomial can be factored into , leaving the desired expression (7).
Of course, for Sou this is not nearly intellectually challenging enough. (The subtitles say that the teacher's derivation is erroneous, but it's correct as far as I can tell; if this is what Sou actually says, maybe the producers just wanted to avoid getting into details about the distinction between generalizing a theorem and offering a better proof of the same theorem.) Sou realizes that this fact can be generalized, establishing a more powerful theorem. Instead of having a product of just three consecutive integers , why not have arbitrarily many? Sou generalizes the theorem to apply to a product of consecutive integers: . And indeed, there is a closed-form expression for this as well:
Note that this reduces to the previous theorem if you substitute .
It's a fun exercise to try to prove this theorem, which I encourage you to do if you're interested. I did so, and I'll present my own proof later on. As it turns out, Sou's proof is simpler than mine, but due to camera angles and low resolution, it's pretty hard to actually see what the proof is.
After much squinting and deducing, I finally figured it out:
This is pretty short and makes some jumps that may not be intuitive, so I'll go through the details:
In line (9), each term of the summation is multiplied by a ratio equal to 1, which does not change the value of the expression. You can easily do the math and see that the numerator is equal to . In line (10), the denominator of this ratio is pulled out of the summation, since it's a constant factor, and the two terms in the numerator are multiplied with the product , using the distributive law. Line (11) is probably the biggest jump in this proof; it's using a telescoping sum, reducing a sum of terms by canceling out intermediate pairs. If you plug in for , you get , and likewise, for , you get Notice that the terms cancel when you add these together. If you keep doing this all the way to , all the intermediate pairs cancel out, and you're left with just two terms: . The second term vanishes, so the overall expression is reduced to (11), which completes the proof.
The following is my own proof, which is a bit lengthier and uses binomial coefficients, along with Pascal's second identity. Let's first prove Pascal's second identity, stated here as a lemma:
We use the principle of induction, which is showing that a statement holds for some base case (here ) and showing that if the statement holds for some , then it has to hold for as well. Putting these parts together, you prove that the statement holds for all integers greater than or equal to the base case.
Lines (13) through (17) prove the base case. This makes use of the definition of the binomial coefficient , which for is equal to 1.
The inductive step is proved in lines (18) through (25). We assume the statement holds for and show that it also holds for . In line (18), we split the sum of terms into two parts. The first part is identical to the sum of terms, which we can replace with by the inductive assumption (19). In line (20), we replace the binomial coefficients with their equivalent factorial ratios, and in line (21), we factor and out of the two denominators, respectively. In lines (22) and (23), we factor out common factors of both terms, and add together the remaining fractions. Combining the two parts, we get (24), which can be written as (25), thus proving the lemma.
My alternate proof is as follows:
In line (26), we rewrite the product of consecutive integers as a ratio of factorials. We then reindex the summation (27) for convenience, so that starts at 0. Next we multiply the entire expression by and divide it by the same amount (28). Each term of the summation can be expressed in binomial form (29). Using Pascal's second identity, we can rewrite the sum as (30). Turning this back into a ratio of factorials, we get (31). We can cancel out a factor, leaving (32). Finally, expressing this ratio of factorials as a product of consecutive integers, we have (33), as desired.
(I'd stick a "Q.E.D." at the end of that proof, but no one uses that anymore. The square box is sufficient.)
I'm definitely looking forward to more math and awesomeness in the upcoming episodes….
[The above proofs are available as a PDF.]
EDIT: Upon rewatching the episode, I discovered that Sou has excellent taste in reading material:
Douglas R. Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. I approve.
EDIT 2: Agggh!! What was I thinking? There's a really easy inductive proof that I would have seen had I inducted on the right variable the first time. >_<
It's, uh, self-explanatory.


text:
Subscribe To New Clip From Kevin Spacey's Casino Jack Wants To Show You The Money Updates
I've already subscribed
Most people will recognize Casino Jack as that movie that got Rachelle Lafevre unceremoniously booted off of Twilight: Eclipse, but film fans will know that this is their next chance to see Kevin Spacey on the big screen. With co-stars Jon Lovitz, Kelly Preston and Barry Pepper, Jack might turn out to be one of the better movies of 2010.
This clip shows off Spacey's Jack Abramoff and his partner in crime Michael Scanlon putting around a quiet tarmac and shouting quotes from Jerry Maguire. It doesn't give you much of a look into the greed and corruption bred by these two men, but you at least get the idea that all they seem to care about is money, which eventually leads to their downfall. As you may recall, Abramoff was sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding Indian tribes that offered him money due to his powerful position as a lobbyist in Washington. He's emblematic of corruption in the Capitol, though as Abramoff himself points out, he was more of a symptom, not a cause.
Thanks to Yahoo! Movies for the clip.
Jack Abramoff plays in the same game as the highest of rollers and resorts to awe-inspiring levels of conning, scheming and fraudulent antics to get what he wants. Aided by his business partner Michael Scanlon, Jack parlays his clout over some of the world's most powerful men with the goal of creating a personal empire of wealth and influence. When the two enlist a mob-connected buddy to help with one of their illegal schemes, they soon find themselves in over their heads, entrenched in a world of mafia assassins, murder and a scandal that spins so out of control that it makes worldwide headlines.


text:
Open your Bible, will you now with me, to 1 Timothy chapter 3...1 Timothy chapter 3. For many months we have been studying this great epistle from Paul to Timothy who is working in the church at Ephesus. And as we have come to chapter 3 verses 1 to 7 we are dealing with the call and qualification of church leaders...to put it simply, the qualifications for pastoring or being an elder or overseer in the church of Jesus Christ. Obviously in any dimension of human life, leadership is at a premium whether you're talking about politics or economics or education, business, anything. There is a tremendous demand for quality leadership. And the church as the most essential, most significant, most powerful institution on the face of the earth requires leadership. And God has designed certain men, equipped them in very specific ways and then called them to the leadership of His church.
When the church does not recognize the proper standards for leadership, when men rise to positions of leadership in the church who are unworthy to be there, the results are devastating. And if the Kingdom of Christ suffers anything more than others, it suffers so often from a lack of godly spiritual competent spiritual leadership.
Perhaps in the last couple of weeks you also took note of the fact that on a national television program a rather well known leader in the church who represents himself as a minister of Jesus Christ was debunked as a fraud. Last week when I was in Boise, Idaho, I received a phone call long distance from ABC New York. An investigative reporter in New York is doing a report on a wellknown preacher in our country and had uncovered some things about this particular man's life that were rather severe breeches of his trust, violent disregard for the Law of God. They had tracked him with a camera and caught him in compromising situations with women in his hotel rooms. They had found him in a bar. They had tracked down some of the way in which he handled himself in terms of finances and the whole thing is being prepared now for some kind of expose'.
This particular investigative reporter is a Christian and wanted to share with me the burden on his heart of ambivalence. Because on the one hand he is unmasking a charlaton, on the other hand he is knowingly going to strike a blow against the church of Jesus Christ that will make people say all over again, "I told you all those preachers were phonies." Not an enviable position to be in.
There is a tremendously need for spiritual leadership in the church, men who are authoritative, sacrificial, Spiritfilled and dependent on God. As we look at the qualifications for leadership in this chapter, we are brought facetoface with what it takes to stand in the place of leadership in the church. But even before we look at the text, I want to be bold enough to back up a little and suggest to you that those who lead in the church are equipped by God with certain characteristics of personality that give them potential for spiritual leadership.
For example, Lord Montgomery annunciated seven ingredients necessary for a leader in war. It has nothing to do with the church or spiritual things, but these are the things he looked for for a leader in war. He should be able to sit back and avoid getting immersed in detail. He must not be petty. He must not be pompous. He must be a good selector of men. He should trust those under him and let them get on with their job without interference. He must have the power of clear decision. And he should inspire confidence.
Now all of those are human characteristics that demonstrate leadership potential. And I would daresay that we could take those seven and line them up alongside leaders we would like in the church and we would agree with him. Those are personality traits and characteristics which put a man in a position to be effective as a leader.
Dr. John Armot(?) who was involved in student leadership had a list as well. This is what he suggested as the series of questions you ask to see if someone has leadership potential. Does he do little things well? Has he learned the meaning of priorities? How does he use his leisure? Does he have intensity? Has he learned to take advantage of momentum? Does he have the power of growth? What is his attitude toward discouragement and how does he face impossible situations?
Now leadership demands some innate capability. Just as you can't sing for the Lord even though you love the Lord, unless God gave you a decent voice, at least you can't sing and have anyone listen with a pleasing response, so in leadership we must assume that God gives some basic qualifications. Oswald Saunders who has written unquestionably the finest book on "Spiritual Leadership," that's its title, in Christian literature, has a list of questions to ask in determining whether someone has potential for leadership. Here are his questions and comments. Have you ever broken yourself of a bad habit? To lead others, one must be master of oneself. Here's another one. Do you retain control of yourself when things go wrong? The leader who loses selfcontrol in testing circumstances forfeits respect and loses influence. Do you think independently, he asks? While using to the full the thought of others, the leader cannot afford to let others do his thinking or make his decisions for him. Can you handle criticism objectively and remain unmoved under it? He says the humble man can derive benefit from petty and even malicious criticism. Can you use disappointments creatively? Do you readily secure the cooperation and win the respect and confidence of others? Do you possess the ability to secure discipline without having to resort to a show of authority?
And he suggests that true leadership is an internal quality of the Spirit and requires no external show of force. Then he asks, have you qualified for the Beatitude pronounced on the peacemaker, since it is much easier to keep the peace than to make the peace where it has been shattered? Furthermore, questions for a potential leader, are you entrusted with the handling of difficult and delicate situations? Can you induce people to do happily some legitimate thing that they would not normally wish to do? Can you accept opposition to your viewpoint or decision without considering it a personal affront and reacting accordingly? Do you find it easy to make and keep friends? Your circle of loyal friends is an index of the quality and extent of your leadership.
And then he asks, are you unduly dependent on the praise or approval of others? Can you hold a steady course in the face of disapproval? How about this? Are you at ease in the presence of your superiors or strangers? Do your subordinates appear at ease in your presence? A leader should give an impression of sympathetic understanding and friendliness. Then he asks, are you interested in people? Do you possess tact? Do you possess a strong and steady will? Do you nurse resentments? Or do you readily forgive? Are you reasonably optimistic since pessimism is not asset to a leader? And are you in the grip of a master passion such as that of Paul who said, "This one thing I do," such a singleness of motive will focus all one's energies and powers on the desired objective. And do you welcome responsibility?
That's quite a provocative list, isn't it? A great check list to see if you have leadership potential. And that's where leadership starts. There is an innate working of the Spirit of God before you even get to the giftedness aspect, before you even get to the preparation aspect for that final leadership in the church.
I look back on my own life and it's almost funny to analyze the path that the Lord brought me through in bringing me to a place of leadership in His church by His grace. I remember when I was in high school, some people said to me, "You ought to run for Student Body President." And they had a little straw vote to determine who the candidates might be that would run before they were approved by the administration of our high school. And some one had put my name in the process and one day I got a call from the principal and I was called to his office. And he said, "It's come to our attention that you might run for Student Body President. Furthermore, the straw vote indicates that you might win. And so, we're withdrawing your name from the ballot out of fear that in the event of your running that might happen."
And that is exactly what they did. They took my name off the ballot. Now it wasn't that I didn't demonstrate some human capacity for leadership, it's just that I really didn't know how to control them very well and they were very sure of that.
When I was in college, some similar things to that happened. I came home from college one year and I decided to get a summer job and they were looking for people to work on the playground for the YMCA. Elementary school playgrounds were going to be open in the summer and they wanted young men to sort of open the gate, take out the carom board, set up the pingpong table and sit there with kids until five o'clock then lock the gate and that was it. And so I applied for that and had to fill out a rather lengthy application. They wanted to know everything possible about me and then after the application I received a phone call that I would have an interview with the panel who were determining who was qualified to open and close the gate and get out the carom board.
So I went to the Glendale City Hall and sat before five people on a panel, four, five people quizzed me for what amounted to nearly an hour. At the end of which time I was rejected as unsuitable for that position of leadership. And I've been waiting 30 years to tell somebody that, I think. That was a major trauma in my life.
I then went on to college and licked my wounds. And when I was coming to my senior year in college, it was suggested that I run for Student Body VicePresident. I was very active in sports and in church ministry by then, but somebody said you ought to be Student Body VicePresident. And I said really, I don't want to do that. But there was a friend in our class, he was particularly a classmate in philosophy class, a brilliant student and he said, "I'm just going to take it upon myself to put your name in." And I thought nothing would come of it, I really thought he was kidding. But he did. And on the day of the election when they were allowed to post banners and signs everywhere, I came to school to a shock because ten to one my signs dominated anybody else's signs. I hadn't known anything about it. What made it extremely curious was this friend who was so gracious and so concerned to see me run had a reading disorder, a form of delexia(?) which caused him to be unable to spell. And as a result, my name was spelled wrong on every poster. Not only that, it was spelled differently on every poster. And it was so funny that I won the election. So I want you to know that the only place my natural talents ever got me in leadership was backing in by virtue of a joke to the vice presidency of my college student body. I should say, later on I fared a little better in seminary after the Lord began to pour in my life the spiritual qualifications to fit me for leadership and I did have the privilege of being president while a student at Talbot Seminary. But by then the Lord had begun to blend the things together.
What I'm trying to say to you is there are some natural characteristics that God builds in to those He would have to lead but until they are refined by the work of the Spirit of God and until they are added to by the gifts of the Spirit of God, they are not suitable for proper leadership in His church. And so we cannot talk about church leadership from the viewpoint of human potential. We cannot close the case on church leadership by just analyzing the skills that a person has naturally in the areas of leadership. We must come to the spiritual qualifications, and that brings us to 1 Timothy chapter 3.
We could look in a very general way at the New Testament and we would find that leaders are to be motivated by love, not constraint. They are to be characterized by a gentle and soft authority, not a harsh and abusive one. They are to be models of virtue. They are to be humble. They are to be disciplined in their life in terms of how they use their time and their resources. They are to have a vision for the plan of God. They are to be wise in the Word of God, decisive in the will of God, uncompromising in obedience. All those general things sort of ooze through the New Testament.
There must be in a leader a willingness to accept loneliness, a willingness to accept and deal with failure, it will come, a willingness to sacrifice, to be weary, to be criticized, to be rejected, to be pressured, to be disappointed, all of that sort of comes with it. There must be a recognition that we have to set aside personal ambition. We have to set aside personal comparisons. Those things lead to pride and jealousy. But apart from all those general things, what are the specifics that qualify a man to be a leader in the church. They're right here in 1 Timothy 3, let's look together at them.
Now first of all, notice in verse 2 which is where we want to begin, an overseer or bishop or elder or pastor, it's talking about the pastor, the elder, the overseer in the church, must be blameless. That is, he manifests a state of life and conduct that is above accusation. There is no blot on his life that renders him an unworthy example or model of spiritual virtue. He is to set the example for the church. And as I said before, and I want you to understand this so I'm going to repeat it, the standard for the pastor or leader of the church is not higher than the people in the church. The standard of God is the same for everyone, it is just that the leaders have to be there so that everybody else knows what the standard is to which they are to rise. God is not content when the leaders are there and the people are here, God wants the leaders at the highest standard to pull the people to that same standard. So he is to be blameless. His life is unflawed...not perfection but whatever weakness he has he brings to God, whatever failures he has he confesses to God and he's a blameless man in the eyes of his people.
Now how is blamelessness defined? Well it begins to be defined right after that in verse 2. And there are four categories...his moral character, his home life, his maturity and his reputation. To see if he's blameless we look at these four things. We look at his moral character, we look at his home life, we look at his maturity, and then we look at his reputation.
Now remember, we began last time to look at his moral character. First of all, he's a onewoman man. The Greek text says a onewoman man. That is not a phrase related to whether he's married or not, it is not a phrase related to whether he's ever been married before, whether he has previously been married before his conversion or after. It's not concerning status, it is concerning character. It is not a matter of circumstance, it is a matter of his virtue. And the issue here is a man who is solely and only and totally devoted to the woman who is his wife. It is a question of his character. He is a onewoman man. Anything less is a disqualification.
Secondly, he is temperate. Now temperate we said last time basically comes from a word that means wineless. He is not out of control of his faculties by being under the control of some excess, some other influence, such as wine. He is unmixed with wine, is the root idea. And metaphorically it carries the idea of being alert or watchful, someone who really is clear headed, nothing clouds his mind or vision. He has no excess. He has a moderation of life in which everything is seen clearly so that he can control the diverse elements of life and be a model of virtue.
Now with those two already in our minds, let's go to the third one where we left off last time. This man who leads the church is to be soberminded. Now remember, we're talking about church leaders but we're talking about characteristics that are the model for you and me and all of us to follow. He is to be sophron, sober minded. If temperate means selfcontrolled, if temperate means clearly seeing everything and controlling his life and no excess, then this is the result of that. This basically means to be well disciplined. This is the person, I love the idea, who knows how to order his priorities. He's got his ducks in a row. In fact, it carries also the connotation of a person who is serious about spiritual things.
One ancient writer says that a man who is sophron does not have the reputation of a clown. He does not have the reputation of a clown. He is a serious man. That doesn't mean there's no place for humor, any good leader is going to be able to use and enjoy humor. But there is a seriousness of life that commands a seriousness of his own mind. Fortunately and gratefully, one of the things that young men grow out of is a sort of unnecessary frivolity. The longer you serve the Lord, the longer you live in the world, the more you begin to see the world through the eyes of God, you begin to see it through the tears of Jesus. And the more you see the world for what it is and the more you see the lostness of men and the more you see the disobedience to God, and the inevitability of hell, and all of the struggles and problems of sin, the less frivolity there is in your heart. And that's part of being a soberminded person. It doesn't mean that you're a...you know, the guy who rains on everybody's parade, it doesn't mean you have no joy in your life, it doesn't mean you can't laugh, it does mean that there is a pervasive sense of the seriousness of life and ministry. And you don't approach ministry and you don't approach life with a certain frivolity.
It carries also the idea, and this word is used in a broad way, it carries the idea of a man with a sure and steady mind who is not rash but who is very thoughtful and very earnest and very cautious in judgments. He makes judgments with great caution. The idea, right back to what I said before, well disciplined...a welldisciplined mind that results in a welldisciplined life. When I say a welldisciplined mind I mean a mind that chooses to think on things that are of importance and to waste its time on foolish things...a mind that learns to think about the right things.
I received a letter last week from a lady who said that she wanted to thank me, she started listening to our radio program and it delivered her from a very serious addiction. She said I was addicted for ten years five hours a day to soap operas. And she said, "I praise God for Grace to You, I began to listen and God has delivered me from that addiction." And now, she said, "My mind is set on the things of the Word of God." That's a deliverance and we praise God, along with that lady, for what He by His grace did in her life. But a mind that knows where it ought to concentrate, a mind that knows the thing that is worthy of its thought, it's the mind of Philippians 4:8, you know that passage, "Whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things." That's the ordered mind. That's the controlled mind, the well disciplined mind.
This is the kind of mind, chapter 3 verse 11 says, that is to belong to the women who serve in the church, the deaconess should also be soberminded. Titus 1:8 also says that the elders should have the sober mind and Titus 2:2 says older men should be sober minded, they should understand priorities. This is the one who can master his mind. His mind will react to the truth of God and not the whim of the flesh. He masters pleasure and he masters desire. And, of course, the key to all of this is that Christ reigns in his life.
Philo, ancient writer, interpreted this word as a certain limiting and ordering of the desires which eliminates those which are external and excessive, or which adorns those which are necessary with moderation...an ordered life.
The man then who leads in the church is devoted in his love life to one woman and is selfcontrolled in his personal habits and tastes so that his mind is clear enough to order the priorities of his world in a proper way.
Now let's go to a fourth characteristic that flows out of this. When a person is clear minded and they order the priorities in their thinking in a welldisciplined way, it will result in what is translated here of good behavior. The idea here of the word kosmios which comes from the idea of kosmos which means system, we translate the word kosmos as world. The word world means the system, the word earth means the globe itself, its actual physical makeup. The word world means the system...the system of life, the network of values both human and divine and Satanic that interplay with one another in the dimension of time and space in man's existence. That's the system of the world, that's the kosmos. It is an ordered system.
And we live in that order and what it's saying here is that the person who has that kind of mind which has the ability to think soberly on what ought to be thought about is the person then whose system of living is going to be orderly. He will fulfill all the duties and all the responsibilities of life because he's controlled by that inner order, that well disciplined spirit. He thinks on right things. He's clear headed, as we saw, as a result he knows how to line up his priorities and it shows in the order of his life. His life is orderly. You see the discipline of his heart and mind in the discipline of his duties and his action. You give him responsibility and he does it. He can get his act together, to put it in the vernacular.
Frankly, the ministry is absolutely no place for the man whose life is a continual confusion of unaccomplished plans and unorganized activities. The opposite of the word kosmos, by the way, is the word chaos. And we saw that back in chapter 2 verse 9. Women there are said to, if they're going to worship God properly, need to reverence themselves in an orderly way before God. They're to conduct themselves in a way that is orderly, proper and so that same idea appears here in terms of spiritual leadership. We are not to have a chaotic life style but an ordered life style. And the work of the overseer in the church is a work of administration. It's a work of ordering others. It's a work of overseeing. It's a work of putting things in their proper place. Everything has its place in time. Everything has its place in priority listing. And that must be part of the ability of this one who leads.
Oh it's a very special person. His life is not disconnected, disrupted and disorderly. And I confess to you that in my years in the ministry, I have seen many men who have great difficulty effectively ministering because they never do get their lives into any meaningful order. They can't concentrate on a task. They can't apply themselves to things within a larger framework to accomplish goals. And the disorder is a disqualification. So this is a special man.
Let's go to number five and see further what it is that qualifies a man to be the example of what God wants all of His people to be. This is given to hospitality. The word is a beautiful word, philoxenos, xenos means stranger and philo comes from phileo, to love or to show affection. This is a frequently commanded attribute of Christian character. Back in Romans chapter 12 verse 13, as Paul is laying down some of the behavior patterns of believers, he talks about being given to hospitality as a mark of one who embraces Christ. Hebrews 13:2 says don't be forgetful to entertain strangers, for some in so doing have entertained angels unawares. And he has in mind Abraham and Sarah who in being gracious to serve a meal to three strangers found out when looking back that the strangers were none other than God and two holy angels come in the form of a man. And so, be careful how you train...treat strangers. First Peter 4:9, use hospitality without grudging, Peter says. Don't give it but not like giving it, do it willingly and with a ready heart.
Now what does it mean to love strangers? I hear all the time, "Well, Soandso has a gift of hospitality because she's a great cook." I'm for great cooks and people say, "Well, you know, boy, my wife has the gift of hospitality, she's always having our friends over." Look, I think that's good too. In fact, I'll come over and eat good food anytime. But that is not what this word means. This is not a word about having your friends over. This is a word about loving somebody who isn't your friend. This is all about strangers. This is like Jesus when He said, "Look, when you have a feast, don't call everybody you know, go out and call the poor and those who don't have any resources." You see, the mark of spiritual leadership here is not somebody who entertains his friends....hey, everybody does that, that's not a mark of anything. Everybody does...everybody has their friends over. Everybody takes their friends out. Everybody shows kindness to their friends, this is talking about the people who aren't your friends, this is loving strangers.
Now I confess that this can be...this can be dangerous because a stranger is a stranger. And if you think you have to have an FBI dossier on everybody who enters your house, you're going to have a little trouble with this because you are going to expose yourself to some vulnerability. Recently one of the dear couples in our church took in a group of people who expressed great need and in their own home they took them in and cared for them and provided a place for them. And then when it became apparent that they were taking great advantage of that and had no true interest in the things of Christ and no true graciousness of spirit to receive as should be received the kindness given them, they tried to deal with that and then it became very very difficult and the people took things. From what I understand there was great damage, great loss of money involved, very very sad. And then when they asked the people to leave, their lives were threatened by these people who by the way had a rather lengthy police record and certain association with weapons and so forth...this in the last month in our church.
And a few Sundays ago the word came that this group of people was coming to Grace Church to commandeer the pulpit in a Sundaymorning service. Now you didn't know that because we didn't tell you that. I would like to keep your attention when I'm preaching to you, I don't want you looking around for who is going to take over the place.
But we had policemen here that morning. And they all were prepared properly with mace. In fact, just as I was coming in to preach, one of them said, "Now if anything comes down, just duck." And I said, "Wait a minute, you better explain a little more than that, what should I be looking for?" And they explained what might happen, somebody might take over the pulpit and just be ready, they said. So I was ready and I'm just thankful it didn't happen. I don't know how it was dealt with but we didn't know anything at all so perhaps they didn't even come or they came and found us to be a more formidable looking bunch than they had originally anticipated.
But anyway, the point I'm making is these dear people were threatened in terms of their life, they lost some of their belongings, they had to put out a great amount of money to deal with the situation. And there is always the downside risk to loving the stranger but I want you to know that there is in my heart the absolute confidence that any loss to the unkind stranger is a gain to our gracious God who shall abundantly repay them for whatever and far more they may have lost by doing that which is commanded of them in the Word of God. And they can be looking around any corner ahead of them to see what it is that God will pour out on them by way of His blessing...loving strangers.
I have this rule at our house, never go in the hall until you're fully dressed because I never know who is staying in our house and some of the people I meet in the hall I have never met before. But that's all right and that's as it ought to be.
Persecution, poverty, orphans, widows, traveling Christians, it made it necessary in ancient days to open the home. There weren't any hotels like we have, motels. They didn't pamper people like they do today. And the inns for the most part were brothels. They marked the ancient world with a black mark. There people were robbed and beaten and solicited to evil. William Barclay writes of the picture of the ancient world with these words, "In the ancient world, inns were notoriously bad. In one of Aristophanes' plays, Herocles(?) asks his companion where they will lodge for the night. And the answer is, `Wherever the fleas are the fewest.' Plato speaks of the innkeeper being like a pirate who holds his guests to ransom. Inns tended to be dirty and expensive and above all immoral. The ancient world, therefore, had developed a system of what were called `guests friendships.' Over generations, families had arrangements with other families to give each other accommodation and hospitality if they were in the area. And often the members of the families came in the inn to be unknown by each other by sight, as the generations went on. They would then identify themselves by means of what were called `tallies.' A stranger coming into a town would seek accommodation and produce one half of an object, that was called a tally, and if the houseowner had the other half he would know that this was someone from a family that had a guest friendship with his family in generations past. And the stranger was indeed the friend and could be admitted to the home. In the Christian church there were wandering teachers and preachers, they needed hospitality. There were many slaves who had no homes of their own, it was a great privilege to have them come into a Christian home maybe for the only time in their life."
You see, the whole church was like a little island of Christianity in a sea of paganism and Christian homes would be the safest most enriching and wonderful place of all. And I still think we live in a world like that. Many are far from home, many are strangers and many need a place to stay and the Christian home would be the best place of all. And the door of the Christian home as well as the heart of the Christian family ought to be open to all who come.
You see, what it's saying here is that the pastor is not somebody who is elevated to a place where he's unapproachable. He's not remote. He's available. This is not the place for seclusion. This is not the place for isolation. His life and his home are open so that the true character of his life is manifest to all who come there. I mean, if I want to know the most about you, I'd go to your house and watch you for a few days...or weeks. The pastorate is not a place where you ascend beyond the people and become untouchable. It's a place where you become touchable and you hold your home as a stewardship to be used as God sees fit. And I'm always reminded when I think about this that God received those of us who were strangers and alien from the covenant, those Gentiles, He received us as strangers into His family and how can we who have been so welcomed not welcome other strangers into our own? And after all, we own nothing. Now I'm not saying disregard what you have, I want to be a steward of what God gave me. And when the couple shows up with eight little children and four new boxes of Crayolas, I'm a little leery. We did have our house decorated one time. I want to be sensitive to that. And we're not going to be wasteful about resources God has given us but we are going to be aware of the fact that we don't own anything, we only manage everything we have for Christ, He owns it all. And so we want to love those strangers that call upon us.
And that isn't only a matter of just opening your home. I mean, loving strangers is just a matter of life. Opening your heart to people who really don't know you and whom you don't know, sometimes that can become maybe the best avenue for evangelism.
Well, let me give you one more this morning and this one, a fitting one in which to close, at the end of verse 2, and we'll take verse 3 next time. At the end of verse 2 he says, "apt to teach...apt to teach." Here is the only qualification given in the entire list related specifically to the function of a pastor or elder or overseer. Skilled in teaching, didaktikon, it means skilled in teaching. It is used only here and in 2 Timothy 2:24, only those two times. The word is a rich word. He is to be a skilled teacher, that's the bottom line. The difference really, beloved, the thing that sets deacons apart from elders or pastors, the thing that sets the congregation apart from the pastor is the skill of teaching. There is a marked skill in teaching that goes along with the unique moral spiritual qualifications of the man. The man is highly qualified and with the edition of skill in teaching.
You say, "Well then how is it that the skill of teaching is put here in the middle of the list of moral qualifications?" Because teaching effectively is predicated on the character of the teacher. You cannot divorce what a teacher is from what he says when the whole content of his teaching is moral. So this in itself is a moral qualification. That is, he is to be able to teach and he will only be able to teach effectively if he lives up to what it is he teaches, right? So it is a moral qualification as well as a note about his function. He is to be a skilled teacher.
In 1 Timothy 5:17 the note is that he is one who labors, kopiao, who works to exhaustion in the Word and doctrine. And I am always amazed at how many people are concerned about leisure and how many people want time off and yet in the Word of God there is the constraint that one labors to the point of exhaustion in the Word and in the teaching. This is the primary task. You see, in Ephesians it says He's given the church evangelists and teaching pastors, these would be the same as elders and bishops. And they are for the perfecting of the saints. And how do you perfect the saints? Through the Word of God, feeding the Word, feeding the Word, the primary role is teaching, teaching.
Notice 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 6, Paul says to Timothy, "If you put the brethren in remembrance of these things you'll be a good minister of Jesus Christ." If you're a good teacher, he says, and make the people remember divine truth, you're a good minister. A good minister is a good teacher. A good minister is able to communicate the Word of God. Verse 11, "These things command and teach." Verse 16, "Take heed to yourself and unto the teaching." Chapter 5 verse 17, as I mentioned earlier, "Work hard in the Word and teaching."
The same thing is true in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 13, "Hold on to sound words." Chapter 2 verse 15, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of truth." Know how to interpret it properly. Chapter 3 verse 14, "Continue in the things you've learned." Pass them on to others.
The essence of everything is teaching. That's why 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "The things you've heard from me commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." It's all about teaching. And, of course, at this time the apostolic era is dying out, the Apostles are going to glory. And there's a great need as the church explodes all over the then known world. And as it is exploding there is this great demand for teachers. And so Paul's word to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 is to make teachers, to teach teachers who can teach others, this is the skill that is at the core of the role of the pastor, evangelist, the leader of the church. The Lord's servant must be didaktikos, skilled in teaching, able to teach because his life is of such moral constitution, such impeccable virtue that he is believable. Not only does he have skill in the communicating end of it, but he has the ability to make it believable because he lives it.
The New Testament also encourages him to be paidionta(??) which means to be trained. That's the word paidia(?) comes from a word that means little child, to be disciplined or trained or educated like a child. You put together then the skill in teaching and the training and you have what it takes to be an effective teacher. The object is to be used by God to articulate divine truth.
Now not everybody is a teacher. And not everybody is called to be a teacher. And it isn't wrong not to be a teacher of the church as a pastor or evangelist or leader. It isn't wrong. It's a question of the calling of God. First Corinthians 12:29, do you remember that verse? Look at it for just a moment. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul is talking about the gifts of the Spirit. In verse 28 he begins by saying, "God has set some in the church," and it's important to note that this is the work of God. God sets His leaders in their place. "First He set Apostles, then prophets and then teachers," and that no doubt refers to pastor teachers, those who lead the church, skilled in teaching. And then He set some who have the gift of miracles or healing or helps or government. He mentions tongues. And then he says this, all of those things, by the way, were in existence at that time, "Are all apostles?" The answer obviously is no. "Are all prophets?" No. "Are all teachers?" No. No, we're not all teachers and God did not intend for all of us to be teachers in the formal life of the church. All of us are to be teachers in the informal life of the church, sharing truth within the network of our influence, but not all of us have been called to teach.
Those who have will have, I believe, some innate human qualifications that potentiate leadership. We talked about those at the very beginning. They'll have some characteristics that are potential for leadership. And then they will be refined by the Spirit of God, gifted by the Spirit of God, and brought by the Spirit of God to the place where they can match these qualifications.
What is it then we that we look for in the moral character of a teacher in the church? A onewoman man, a man who is not given to excesses but in a clear minded way orders his priorities and consequently his life has an orderly pattern of behavior. And when he teaches out of that platform of an ordered mind and an ordered life, he will be skilled in his teaching because God will have given him the gift to do that and the life credibility to make it believable. Now that's the kind of person that God has called to lead His church.
And how sad, how tragic it is when other kinds of people find their place in church leadership. Or, when even these kind are there but fall into sin and are disqualified. The saddest thing we deal with in the church because it's the most important thing is the problem of ungodly leadership. And we need to be praying that God will maintain the purity of our leadership here and help us raise many more godly leaders for the church around the world.
Well, so much more to say but I don't want to get into any more until next time. Let's pray together.
Lord, we cannot understand why You have chosen to put so much dependence on those of us who are human teachers with all of our frailities and weaknesses, with all of our inabilities, with all of the potential for failure and bringing disrepute on Your name. Lord, we thank You though because with that great responsibility comes a holy privilege and a confidence that You have not called us to do what You have not enabled us to do. We thank You for the power of the Holy Spirit who causes us to be able to do those things we are called to do. O God, I pray for the leaders here. I pray for those who shall be raised up. I pray for the leadership of Your church that it might be in the hands of those who are the virtuous men so described in Your Word. And help us, Lord, to know that none of us is really qualified but by grace. Lord, help us to know that it's only because You are a condescending loving God that You even allow us to be used who come so short of Your glory. But keep us, Lord, as true and as pure and as right as we can be that we may be faithful and skilled teachers of Your Word for the sake of Your church that it might be to the praise and glory of the name of Christ. Amen.
This article is also available and sold as a booklet.
This sermon series includes the following messages:
Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource.Publisher Information